A George III mahogany work table circa 1770

with a serpentine front, the top with tulipwood crossbanding and a gallery above a slide with an inset leather panel and turned ivory handles, fitted to one side with a drawer for ink and pens, on cabriole legs joined by a mahogany shelf; the back with pleated yellow silk screen framed with a mahogany surround

The form of this work-table derives from a French pattern introduced by Pierre Langlois in the 1750s. There is a table in the Northumberland Collection at Alnwick of this form which is believed to be the one acquired by Elizabeth, Duchess of Northumberland in the early 1760s and known to be by Langlois. (See  P.Thornton and W. Rieder, `Pierre Langlois, Ebeniste', Part 4, The Connoisseur, April 1972, p.258, fig.4). Other cabinet makers including John Cobb of St Martin`s Lane adopted the style.  A table of similar form in tulipwood and rosewood made for Nostell Priory, Yorkshire, is illustrated in Christopher Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, London, 1978, vol.II, fig. 436. For further comparison see Sotheby`s London, 6 June 2006, lot 261.