An Empire Sèvres porcelain-mounted ormolu, patinated-bronze and mahogany guéridon, attributed to Adam Weisweiler and Pierre-Philippe Thomire circa 1805, the porcelain circa 1770-75 and attributed to Jacques-François Micaud

Hugo Nevill Money-Coutts, 8th Baron Latymer (1926-2003)
Sotheby's London, October 26, 1973, lot 145
William Redford Collection, London
Private European Collection

Porcelain top has not been examined out of mount. Enamel with some light scratches, gilding refreshed in areas. Ormolu with some light rubbing, oxidation and surface dirt in areas. Patinated bronze with some light rubbing at extremities. Mahogany base with some fine cracks and some losses and surface restoration to sides. In good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Based on a very similar example, the present table can be attributed to a collaboration between the celebrated ébéniste Adam Weisweiler and the renowned fondeur-ciseleur Pierre-Philippe Thomire, possibly under the direction of the marchand-mercier Martin Eloi Lignereux. The present table relates strikingly to a table firmly attributed to Weisweiler and Thomire which was supplied in 1802 by Lignereux to the Palace of Saint-Cloud and is now in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, see Jean-Pierre Samoyault, Mobilier Français Consulat et Empire, Paris, 2009, p. 117, fig. 199. It is very likely that Weisweiler, famous for his Sèvres inset Louis XVI pieces, made the centre table to the order of and after designs by Lignereux who would also have supplied the porcelain plaque. The attribution to Thomire is not only based on the quality of the ormolu but also the fact that he was one of the main suppliers to Weisweiler, he was closely associated with Lignereux and collaborated with both of them. Identical lions with the distinctive inwards scrolling, acanthus leaf issuing tails can be found on candelabra and clocks by Thomire, see Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Vol. I, Munich, 1986, p. 330, fig. 5.2.7 and p. 342, fig. 5.5.2 and 5.5.4. Based on a design for a related guéridon by Charles Percier, Jacob-Desmalter executed a center table in circa 1805 for the  apartments in the Elysée Palace of Prince and Princess Murat. It is now in the Grand Trianon at Versailles, see Denise Ledoux-Lebard, Le Grand Trianon , Meubles et Objets d'Art, Vol. I, Paris, 1975, pp. 147-148. Another version of this model was supplied to Malmaison, see Gérad Hubert and Nicole Hubert, Musée national des Château de Malmaison et de Bois Préau, Paris, 1986, p. 46. The porcelain top of this table could have remained unused as part of the stock of marchand-mercier Lignereux, or it might have come from another, earlier piece of furniture. The top oak underframe shows signs of having been originally attached to a different support which would suggest that the top was in use on a Louis XVI table before being converted to its present use, circa 1805. The porcelain plaque was painted around 1770-1775, in the style formerly attributed to Mlle Xhrouet but now largely reattributed to Jacques-François Micaud. The style is typical of his informal arrangement with many of the flowers turning outwards. The treatment of heavy strong-colored flowers to the right of the composition, the blueish hue in the leaves, the use of the trailing convolvulus below the basket and the actual choice of flowers are all features common to his work. Other examples may be seen on a circular plaque inset in a black lacquer commode by Weisweiler at Windsor Castle, a plaque inset in a secrétaire by Carlin at Waddesdon Manor, and another on a secrétaire from the Kress Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

This table was once part of the Collection of the Money-Coutts family, heirs to the ancient barony of Latymer and Coutts & Co, the exclusive private bank. The Latymer barony dated from 1431, when it was created for Sir George Nevill, a son of the first Earl of Westmorland. However, the fourth baron died without a male heir in 1577, and the title was in abeyance until 1912, when the Committee of Privileges of the House of Lords ruled, in the absence of other claimants, that it had passed through one of the fourth baron's daughters to Francis Burdett Thomas Money-Coutts (1852-1923). Although destined for the directors' room of Coutts & Co he was too interested in the arts to be a serious banker and became an important patron of the arts.