Mahogany furniture is furniture made from mahogany, a tropical hardwood of the Swietenia genus imported into Britain from the West Indies and Central America, prized for its strength, stability, fine grain and rich reddish-brown colour. From around the 1730s it replaced walnut as the most fashionable timber for English furniture.
The earliest imports, largely from Jamaica and later Cuba and Honduras, provided dense, dark wood often called Spanish or Cuban mahogany, which could be carved crisply and used in wide boards. Later supplies of Honduras mahogany were lighter in weight and colour, and highly figured mahogany was cut into veneers with flame, fiddleback and plum-pudding patterns. Mahogany became the defining timber of the Georgian and Regency periods, used by makers such as Thomas Chippendale and Gillows for dining tables, chairs, sideboards, bookcases, chests and wardrobes, and remained popular throughout the Victorian period. Collectors look for good colour and patina, attractive figure, quality construction and originality. Over-polished or stripped surfaces and later alterations reduce value. Antique mahogany furniture continues to suit both traditional and contemporary interiors, and offers excellent quality for its price.
