Fine Furniture
Baraset House offers a fine selection of 18th & 19th century English, Scottish & American antique furniture, with particular focus on items of rare or unusual design, exceptional quality & craftsmanship, exotic woods, & notable provenance.
We provide the statement piece for both classic and contemporary interiors.
Scottish George III period, by the firm of Young, Trotter & Hamilton c1795
A superb late 18th Century Georgian Sheraton period mahogany fitted dressing table
by the Scottish firm of
Young, Trotter & Hamilton,
of 'Holyroodhouse design', circa 1795
This fine & very rare Sheraton period dressing table was produced in Edinburgh by the firm of Young, Trotter & Hamilton, and corresponds exactly to the suite of furniture supplied in 1796 by Young, Trotter & Hamilton to furnish the Royal apartments of the ancient Scottish palace of Holyrood house for the Comte d'Artois (later Charles X) and his companions during their exile in Scotland from 1796-1803.
The segmented tabletop is cross banded with kingwood, tulipwood and satinwood with boxwood stringing, and inlaid with a central finely-flamed sabicu wood (called 'horseflesh mahogany' or 'tamarind' in the Gillow's specimen books) oval corresponding to the Young, Trotter & Hamilton wardrobe supplied to Holyrood (RCIN 27840) and the Young, Trotter & Hamilton secretaire bookcase supplied to Holyrood (RCIN 27853). The lid opens to reveal a fitted interior showcasing a central fold-away mirror with adjustable double-ratchet stand.
George III period, designed by Thomas Sheraton 1793
An exceptional George III golden faded rosewood adjustable reading, writing & drawing table
in the manner of
George Simson of St Paul’s Churchyard, London
design by Thomas Sheraton (1793)
circa 1795
The solid mahogany table top veneered in rosewood with boxwood stringing and inset with original crimson Moroccan gilt-tooled leather surface, the removable solid rosewood bookstop (shown detached in the 1793 Sheraton drawing) line-inlaid with boxwood and featuring brass pins which slot into the inset table-top collars creating a reading/paper ledge upon the adjustable easel surface, the easel top rising on a superbly crafted adjustable mahogany ratchet. Beneath the rising easel surface, a solid mahogany and rosewood veneered pull-out writing slide, inset with original crimson Moroccan gilt-tooled leather surface.
Designed by Thomas Sheraton in 1793 and executed in the finest quality timbers available, this multi-purpose This multi-purpose adjustable architectural-type table was crafted to be free-standing and seen in the round with all sides finished and inlaid with the same level of detail. The faded golden rosewood showcases glorious golden colour and patina throughout, the interior composed of solid mahogany of the finest quality, and the gilt-tooled Moroccan leather surfaces original to the table.
Scottish William IV period, manner of Trotter of Edinburgh c1830
A superbly figured Scottish bookmatched mahogany chest of drawers of highly unusual black-front form, featuring magnificent turned green horn knobs inlaid with mother-of-pearl,
in the manner of William Trotter of Edinburgh,
circa 1830
Three inverted and recessed front deep drawers in block-front form featuring highly attractive turned green horn knobs inlaid with mother of pearl florets, surmounted by a single shallow 'hidden' top drawer frieze. Each of the three deep drawers carved and cock-beaded to the inverted front out of a single piece of three-inch mahogany, the top moulded out of a single plank with stepped ogee edge.
This highly unusual piece showcases exceptional quality of materials and workmanship, evident in the massive slabs of flame mahogany which have been cut out of the solid and recessed and beaded for the drawer fronts. Block front chests are extremely rare in British furniture design.
Another remarkable feature is the exceptionally fine green horn knobs made inlaid with mother-of-pearl - a remarkable process to have achieved almost two centuries ago, and equally remarkable to have remained in pristine condition.
Scottish-trained craftsman, Scotland or Federal New York c1800
An exceptional chest of 'dressing drawers'
in finely figured ribband mahogany, superbly inlaid with meandering floral vines in boxwood & satinwood
Scotland or Federal New York
circa 1795-1805
Veneered in superbly figured Honduran fiddle-back or ribband mahogany, with inlays in plum-pudding mahogany, satinwood, boxwood, Cuban mahogany & ebony. As a testament to the superior craftsmanship of this piece, the interior drawer sides & bottom boards are composed of solid Cuban mahogany - a luxury virtually unseen in this period.
The sumptuously figured mahogany fronts featuring superbly inlaid boxwood stringing with canted corners terminating with inwards-facing inlaid floral buds in boxwood and satinwood.
The top drawer finely quartered with book-matched mahogany on each end, a conforming mahogany diamond to the centre flanked by a pair of strung pointed mahogany ovals of contrasting mahogany grain set into quarter-panelled veneers, each oval terminating with inlaid satinwood 'dots' on either end. The design of this drawer bears remarkable similarity to prevalent fashion in Federal New York by Scottish immigrant craftsmen of the period.
The second drawer interior divided into three sections, formerly fitted with a writing slide and various compartments for 'dressing equipage'; this layout termed 'dressing drawers' by Hepplewhite, and distinguishing it from the common chest of drawers.
English George IV period,
c1825
A fine & rare George IV gonçalo alves tilt-top breakfast table, or 'loo table' in the manner of Gillows
circa 1825-30
The entire table veneered in dramatically figured gonçalo alves, also called zebrawood, tigerwood and identified as Albura wood in the Gillows of London & Lancaster wood specimen chart. Gonçales Alves is characterised by its deeply striped grain pattern and brilliantly luminous lustre.
Gonçalo Alves (Albura wood) was almost exclusively used by Gillows in the early 19th century, and had largely gone out of fashion by the mid 19th century. Albura wood was the second most luxurious wood provided by Gillows - listed at 40% more expensive than mahogany, and second only to finely figured rosewoods.
Gonçalo Alves trees grow in neotropical forests, in particular Brazil, which is a major exporter of this wood. The finest Gonçales Alves is characterised by its dramatically striped & contrasting grain pattern.
The carving on the pedestal is restrained, minimal and crisp with a luxe that - put simply - will never go out of style. This type of very large tilt-top circular table was known as a "loo table" after the popular 17th century card game Lanterloo.
Measuring 77.5 cm in height, 129.5 cm in diameter (30 1/2 inches x 51 inches)
French Charles X period,
c1830
A fine Charles X mahogany Gueridon centre table,
retaining its original rouge groitte marble-top,
France, circa 1830
An elaborately turned mahogany centre table with original circular moulded mottled Belgian rouge groitte marble-top on a figured mahogany frieze, raised upon a gracefully carved vase-turned fluted and reeded baluster column, ending in a circular moulded collar atop a well figured circular plinth base issuing acanthus carved tripod legs.
Measuring 44 inches in diameter; 28.5 inches in height.
English 19th century,
manner of Gillows
An attractive & very sturdy 19th century
brass-mounted two-tiered mahogany dumb waiter,
in the manner of Gillows of Lancaster & London
The two circular tiers with carved fluted and reeded edges supported by three ring-turned brass columns, raised upon a sharply ring-turned knopped column with three gracefully downswept square tapering legs terminating in brass capped feet on castors. This form of 'dumb waiter' with two tiers raised by three columns was illustrated in Gillows Estimate Sketch Book dated 14 February 1803. The form was evidently popular, as the same model "with two tops" appeared again in Gillows Estimate Sketch Book of 1819.
According to Kathryn Kane,
"it was well known [in the 18th century] that servants were always listing for any tidbit of information they could use to blackmail the people concerned or to sell the secrets to professional blackmailers. The more embarrassing and intimate the indiscretion, the higher the price the sharp-eared servant could demand...some clever furniture designer or cabinet-maker found a solution to this problem. They reinterpreted the tiered glass pyramid on a larger scale, in mahogany. This completely English furniture form was called the dumb-waiter, since it would serve in place of a human waiter. These mahogany "waiters" were both deaf and dumb, and were therefore unable to hear or tell secrets."
