RogerS":j6z4i2e2 said:
Understand what you're saying.
It is very hard to tell from the photos but my sense is that the centre panel is coplanar to the outer 'frame' and also if you look at the grain and cracks then they do seem to 'flow' underneath the moulding. Which suggests that it is a single veneered panel onto which the moulding is fixed (pinned or glued).
Dunno just had another look - I reckon it could be raised
Looking at other pictures of the construction of the piece show it to be relatively 'crude' compared to how we might do things today. Maybe with all our routers etc we look to 'over-complicate' ? This is an antique piece. Late 18th c.
It's not the routers which over complicate it's the mystification or idealisation of woodwork, brought about by Arts n Crafts, Cotswold School and other influences. Still strongly with us - just listen to the quasi religious gibberings of the toolies :lol:
But in the meantime there has always been a huge mainstream body of work being done by intelligent and practical people, with many shortcuts to
optimise the value of the work done. This may result in crude details, especially behind/underneath etc, where it doesn't matter one bit!