A PAIR OF GEORGE III SATINWOOD MARQUETRY AND GILTWOOD PIER TABLES CIRCA 1790

of D-shaped form.; each with black-stencilled number 39651 to reverse of rail. Formerly with festoons to apron, now with braces to underside.

The Collection of Joseph W. Harriman

Sold, Plaza Art Auction Galleries Inc., New York, November 15-17, 1934, lot 334

French & Company, New York

Each back rail stamped 39651, the first table with some rippling to the top and with some minor stress cracks and small areas of inpainting and very minor patches, regilt with some minor chips and wear to gilding with some areas of inpainting, later corner blocks and braces to underside with later wash, stretchers reinforced with later blocks, the second table with some minor lifting to stringing of top, some minor patches and chips to veneers, regilt with areas of wear and chips to gilding and with some areas of inpainting, later corner blocks and braces to underside with later wash, stretchers reinforced with later blocks, overall with old marks and scratches consistent with age and use.
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.

Conceived in the French Neo-Classical style popularized in the 1780s by the architect Henry Holland and the francophile circle of the Prince of Wales, later George IV, these elegant pier tables are of the type described by Thomas Sheraton in The Appendix to The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing-Book, 1793: 'As pier tables are merely for ornament under a glass, they are generally made very light, and the style of finishing them is rich and elegant. Sometimes the tops are solid marble, but most commonly veneered in rich satin, or other valuable wood, with a cross-band on the outside, a border about two inches richly japanned, and a narrow cross-band beyond it, to go all around. The frames are commonly gold, or white and burnished gold. Stretching-rails have of late been introduced to these tables, and it must be owned that it is with good effect, as they take off the long appearance of the legs, and make the under part appear more finished.'

Helena Hayward described a pair of tables of related form in The Connoisseur, June 1967, with painted satinwood tops and giltwood bases, sold in these rooms, April 19-20, 2001, lot 544, as being 'produced at a moment in the history of English furniture when elegance of design was combined with a refined sense of colour and a keen appreciation of sophistication in ornament.'