11ft Rare 1831 1901 Antique Grand William IV Cuban Mahogany Sabre Leg Dining Table

A magnificent and very rare beautiful 1831-1901 William IV Cuban Mahogany Sabre leg Grand dining table.

It will be professionally hand French polished and fully restored by our highly skilled professional Elite team.

This table is simply of the very highest quality from the materials used by the way its been hand constructed by highly skilled English Cabinet makers.

Its in the classic, elegant Regency style & comes with four huge sabre legs & a oval ended tops,

What is Cuban Mahogany?

Once upon a time there was a magnificent wood that possessed splendid physical characteristics. It was in such demand by the wealthy that bold adventurers relentlessly scoured the remotest jungles of the Caribbean searching for it. In fact, this beautiful wood was so coveted that it was harvested to the point of commercial extinction. That wood is Cuban Mahogany, the once and future king of all the cabinetwoods. While there are a plethora of woods that go by the trade name mahogany, Cuban Mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni), Honduran Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) and the commercially unimportant Mexican Mahogany (Swietenia humilis) are the only true members of the mahogany genus.

Cuban Mahogany is a wood apart from all others. It is substantially denser and stronger than its closest analog, Honduran Mahogany. It resists rot well and is renowned for its superb dimensional stability. Cuban Mahogany is a fine tonewood, widely sought after for use in expensive musical instruments. It works easily with both hand tools and power tools and also finishes exceptionally well. The wood’s subtly figured grain and rich, deep reddish-brown tone combine to give it unparalleled beauty. It was, in times past, available in huge boards up to several feet wide, giving high-end woodworkers tremendous artistic flexibility. In short, Cuban Mahogany is, or at least used to be, the ideal wood for fine furniture and cabinet-making.

Cuban Mahogany timber was first exploited for shipbuilding by Spanish explorers shortly after their arrival in the New World. But it wasn’t until the 18th century that it became indispensable to the English and French furniture trades. The finest antique furniture styles – Chippendale, Federal, Sheraton and Empire – all heavily relied on Cuban Mahogany as a primary material. For the next two centuries the noble specie was cut down in massive quantities for export wherever it was found. To make matters worse, it was also employed for mundane purposes on its native islands such as railroad ties, fence posts and even firewood.

When the end came for the king of woods, it did so suddenly. As late as the 1920s it was still possible to purchase sizable volumes of large, old growth Cuban Mahogany logs. A mere decade later it was not possible. The tree was not harvested to actual extinction, but merely to commercial extinction, as if it made much difference. In reality, the jungles of the Caribbean had been systematically purged of any large Cuban Mahogany trees. Any specimens lucky enough to escape the almost total extermination were immature, misshapen or otherwise unfit to be converted to lumber.

The ghosts of Cuban Mahogany’s alluring curse still haunt us today. Honduran Mahogany, the wood that replaced Cuban Mahogany in the fine timber trade due to its similar properties, hasn’t even lasted another 100 years in widespread commercial availability. Most Honduran Mahogany on the market today is either harvested illegally or cut from dedicated plantations in Central America or Southeast Asia. Cuban Mahogany, on the other hand, can only be sourced sporadically in small amounts from damaged tree salvage or antique furniture that has been broken up for scrap. Cuban Mahogany, the king of woods, is dead; long live the king.

It’s now in a traditional natural warm mahogany colour to show off the beautiful movement in the Cuban mahogany & will have once again that deep lustrous shine & gleam to it that still only hand French polishing can achieve using the very finest modern table top French Polishes & materials to obtain the stunning finish we desire, which also now give quite a hard & heat resistant finish compared to the old French Polishes of the past.

Its been finely constructed by English cabinet makers using all there skills to great effect with the extra leafs & table connecting with brass table forks.

This very attractive table will very comfortably seat 10 to 12 people & would make an excellent new addition.

The dimensions are as follows.

Length Min: 4.11ft, 150cm, 59 inches,

Length: Max: 11ft, 335cm, 132 inches

1 leaf: 79 inches, 201 cm

2 leaf: 96 inches, 243 cm

3 leaf: 116.5 inches, 296 cm

4 leaf max length: Max: 11ft, 335cm, 132 inches

Width: 53.5 inches. 136 cm. 4.5 ft

Height: 29.5 inches. 74cm. 2.5ft

Condition report:

With four extra leafs now in a wonderful showroom condition.

Additional dimensions information:

Length Min: 4.11ft, 150cm, 59 inches, Length: Max: 11ft, 335cm, 132 inches 1 leaf: 79 inches, 201 cm 2 leaf: 96 inches, 243 cm 3 leaf: 116.5 inches, 296 cm 4 leaf max length: Max: 11ft, 335cm, 132 inches Width: 53.5 inches. 136 cm. 4.5 ft Height: 29.5 inches. 74cm. 2.5ft