This is a fantastic Victorian style burr walnut and marquetry dining room table which can seat sixteen people in Regal comfort. This stunning table would also be appropriate for a conference room, whatever its function it will make a profound impact on your guests and will receive the maximum amount of attention wherever it is placed. The table is made from burr walnut which has a really beautiful grain and to highlight the grain it has been French polished by hand. French polish is an alcohol and shellac polish for wood, it takes a lot of patience and hard work, but it is one of the most beautiful finishes available, producing an exceptionally high gloss. It has four leaves which can be added or removed as required to suit the occasion by a special double wind out mechanism. When completely wound in, the table is transformed into a circular table six feet in diameter. There are six elegantly carved legs for stability and they terminate in brass cup castors. The table top has a band of exquisite floral marquetry and this regal decoration includes bouquets of beautiful flowers. The matching set of sixteen chairs shown in the photographs is available if required. Condition: In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation of condition. Dimensions in cm: Height 79 x Width 495 x Depth 180 - When fully extended Height 79 x Width 180 x Depth 180 - When fully closed Dimensions in inches: Height 2 feet, 7 inches x Width 16 feet, 3 inches x Depth 5 feet, 11 inches - When fully extended Height 2 feet, 7 inches x Width 5 feet, 11 inches x Depth 5 feet, 11 inches - When fully closed Burr Walnut refers to the swirling figure present in nearly all walnut when cut and polished, and especially in the wood taken from the base of the tree where it joins the roots. However the true burr is a rare growth on the tree where hundreds of tiny branches have started to grow. Burr walnut produces some of the most complex and beautiful figuring you can find. Marquetry is decorative artistry where pieces of material (such as wood, mother of pearl, pewter, brass silver or shell) of different colours are inserted into surface wood veneer to form intricate patterns such as scrolls or flowers. The technique of veneered marquetry had its inspiration in 16th century Florence. Marquetry elaborated upon Florentine techniques of inlaying solid marble slabs with designs formed of fitted marbles, jaspers and semi-precious stones. This work, called opere di commessi, has medieval parallels in Central Italian "Cosmati"-work of inlaid marble floors, altars and columns. The technique is known in English as pietra dura, for the "hardstones" used: onyx, jasper, cornelian, lapis lazuli and colored marbles. In Florence, the Chapel of the Medici at San Lorenzo is completely covered in a colored marble facing using this demanding jig-sawn technique. Techniques of wood marquetry were developed in Antwerp and other Flemish centers of luxury cabinet-making during the early 16th century. The craft was imported full-blown to France after the mid-seventeenth century, to create furniture of unprecedented luxury being made at the royal manufactory of the Gobelins, charged with providing furnishings to decorate Versailles and the other royal residences of Louis XIV. Early masters of French marquetry were the Fleming Pierre Golle and his son-in-law, André-Charles Boulle, who founded a dynasty of royal and Parisian cabinet-makers (ébénistes) and gave his name to a technique of marquetry employing brass with pewter in arabesque or intricately foliate designs. Winding Mechanism for extending tables A man by the name of Samuel Hawkins applied for a patent on a screw expander on June 6th, 1861. Presumably, Mr. Hawkins either died or retired because his business was taken over by a young machinist named Joseph Fitter in 1864. Joseph Fitter operated a machinist shop where he produced winding mechanisms for extending tables as well as screw expanders for piano stools and other applications at 210 Cheapside, Birmingham England by the name of Britannia Works. Our reference: 01213