It is colour and size that generally count most in pricing a dining table, and these considerations are as important today as two hundred years ago.

Antique dinning table available to a buyer today vary enormously in style, quality and price. A 17th-century refectory table in original condition is very hard to come by, for example, and may cost many thousands of pounds, whereas a Victorian reproduction can be bought for a few hundred. Small, foldaway breakfast tables, which first appeared in the early 19th century as one answer to the space restrictions of small town houses, are still extremely popular, and for similar reasons.

Before buying any antique table, you should check it carefully for alterations, as marrying a table top to a different undercarriage is fairly common.

Dining Tables

The simplest form of dining table, its plank top supported by movable trestles, dates from medieval times, when food and feasting were a major pleasure in life. After meals, tables would be moved or dismantled to make room in the great hall for dancing or other activities.

Dining in large groups was also the norm in 16th-century monasteries, where monks ate in the refectory, seated on either side of long tables. By the 17th and 18th centuries, these more permanent tables were found in lay households. The basic refectory table consists of a plank top above a frieze, sitting on fount more supports which are joined by stretchers at the bottom. The shape of the uprights can be used to date a table. They range from plain columns to cup-and-cover and vase forms, some influenced by styles introduced by 17th-century Dutch Huguenot craftsmen.

Antique Collector MagazineRefectory tables are most commonly of oak, but also of yew, walnut or various fruitwoods. Impressive examples in original condition are now avidly sought after, and change hands at auction for £5000-£10,000 or even more, but humbler examples fetch £ 0 000-£3000.

A variation was the earliest extending dining table, the draw-leaf table, introduced in the mid-16th century, and popular in the early x7th. The top lifts up to allow an extra leaf to slide out on runners at each end. The original top settles back between the leaves. Although quality refectory tables were rarely made after the early 18th century, cruder ‘farmhouse’ examples, made of oak and elm, appeared well into the Victorian era. The Victorians also made reproductions of 17th-century refectory tables, which are generally more ornately carved than originals. Since the wood had not yet darkened with age, many were stained to appear more authentic. A number of 19th-century reproductions have a single lengthwise stretcher down the centre of the table, forming an ‘H’ pattern (as opposed to stretchers joining each leg to the next). These can fetch around 000-L000 today, but check that an old top has not been married with a later support.

Swing-Action Tables

Small gate-leg tables combine flexibility of size with ease of storage. The round gate-leg table, together with the later drop-leaf table, is increased in size by flaps raised on each side to rest on legs that swing out from the frame. In the true gate-leg, the swinging leg is joined top and bottom by stretchers to another upright which pivots on the frame, forming a structure very much like a gate.

Considerable numbers of gate-leg tables of varying quality have survived, most made of oak with others of walnut and fruitwoods. The majority have a central drawer, while some larger tables have two, with a double gate-leg action on each side. These larger tables are few and far between and in original condition fetch very high prices. Small gate-legs are more affordable, ranging from about £500 to £5000, while 19th and 20th-century copies generally fetch less than £500.

The drop-leaf dining table developed along the lines of the gate-leg, and has a similar swing-leg action. Round, oval and, later, rectangular side flaps made from a single piece of mahogany are supported by elegant cabriole legs and pivot on knuckle joints. Early mahogany drop-leaf tables are never veneered or crossbanded, and any decoration of this sort would have been added later. Most sell for between £400 and £2000.

Multi-section Tables

The development of the formal dining room in the late 18th century created a need for dining tables that were permanent but flexible in size. The result, in its basic form, was the rectangular drop-leaf table extended with additional, free-standing, D-shaped or rectangular tables added to each end. When not needed, they could be simply placed against the wall as a pair of side tables or put together to form a smaller serving or dining table.

Many such tables are on the market today, and remain popular because of their obvious suitability to the modern, compact home. Prices vary between about £1500 and £3000 depending on the colour of the top and the table’s overall size. These tables should be checked for signs of marrying.

The extended drop-flap table has the drawback of numerous legs, however. The pedestal dining table avoids this by supporting the table top with two, three or four central pedestals, usually with splay legs. It can also be extended where necessary with D-shaped end tables or an extending leaf. Two and three-pedestal tables are topped with two table leaves, while the larger four-pedestal tables have an extra leaf in the centre.

Three and four-pedestal tables are far more expensive than two-pedestal ones, and should always be checked for alterations. As well as the normal marriages of top and base, the central leaf is sometimes from another table.

Many Regency-style reproductions of D-ended pedestal tables were produced in the 192os and sold through the larger department stores, but a genuine Georgian or Regency twin-pedestal example in reasonably original condition is worth at least £2500-£3000.

Some of the largest dining tables date from the early years of the 19th century and are extended mechanically, reflecting the age of the patentee. In 1800 Gillows of Lancaster took out a patent for an extending dining table that was to become a Victorian classic. It retained stability and strength even though it had only four legs. Such tables are usually made of mahogany, sometimes of oak or walnut, and several mechanisms are used.

Breakfast Tables

Single pedestal tables with a tip-up top, first seen around 1770, have become known as breakfast tables, after the informal daytime meal of the 18th and r9th centuries. The compact size of such tables — they are generally about 4 ft (I.2 m) across — and the fact that they can conveniently be stored flat against a wall when not in use has meant that they have remained popular since they first appeared. Most early breakfast tables have a rectangular top of mahogany, although this was sometimes later cut down to an oval or circular shape. Examples from the Sheraton period are occasionally found in rosewood. The table top is supported on a simple turned shaft and splayed legs, and is embellished at most with crossbanding in an exotic wood such as harewood or rosewood.

The colour of the top often decides a table’s value. Prized examples are termed ‘faded’ when the right degree of natural ageing is present, and can fetch £5000-£6000 or more. More ordinary tables sell for £1500-£3000.

The splay legs of such tables take considerable strain, and the design was modified in Regency breakfast tables of the early loth century. These have an elaborate base, where the legs extend from a platform connected to the shaft, helping to spread downward pressure on the pedestal. Ornate examples — with a baluster-turned or carved shaft, a striking top of zebrawood or rosewood, and decorated with borders of brass inlay — can fetch L4000-£6000. But plainer tables with minimal decoration such as hipped legs or a reeded shaft sell for about £1500-£3000.

Some of the most lavish breakfast tables available today are Victorian exhibition pieces made to demonstrate the maker’s artistry and skill. Some display superb floral marquetry on a plain background, while others use ormolu and linear inlay. Tables such as these can sell for more than £10, 000.

Good quality Victorian burr walnut breakfast tables can be identified by a moulded edge around the top, sometimes with shallow relief carving, and scroll-carved legs issuing straight from a heavy baluster shaft. They usually sell for £1000-£2000, or more for well carved examples. Cruder versions in mahogany can be found for under £1000.

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