A PAIR OF REGENCY ROSEWOOD, SIMULATED ROSEWOOD AND PARCEL-GILT TABLES IN THE MANNER OF HENRY HOLLAND AND POSSIBLY BY MARSH AND TATHAM EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Overall good condition, the first with initials CS to underside, repaired break to base of fluted stem, small losses to stringing with some replacements, some age cracks to base, the second table with infilled age crack to top, two bracing panels to underside to correct warping, each with numerous chips and looses to gilding of feet and with some age cracks to base, each stem with grained rosewood over original gilding, edges of tops with shrinkage to veneers and with areas of inpainting to gilt bands, overall with some old marks, scratches and scuffs 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.

The distinctive ebonized and fluted column support is reminiscent of furniture supplied by William Marsh and Thomas Tatham to Samuel Whitbread II at Southill Park, Bedfordshire, much of it to the designs of Henry Holland. As noted by Dorothy Stroud, the architect Henry Holland's complete remodeling of the interiors of Southill at this time 'provided him with the opportunity of creating rooms which in their scale, decoration and furnishings show a rational interpretation of classical ideals' (Henry Holland His Life and Architecture, 1966, p. 127). The maker of these tables was possibly the firm of Marsh and Tatham of Mount Street, London, which, through various changes in the partnership, is recorded between 1774 and 1840. They were closely associated with the architect Henry Holland, both supplying furniture for the Prince of Wales at Carlton House, and also Samuel Whitbread II at Southhill.

The lotus-carved decoration in the Egyptian taste of the stem is found on a pair of side tables in the Drawing Room, illustrated by A. E. Richardson et al, Southill A Regency House, 1951, pp. 30-31, fig. 45.

The trumpet stem on the present lot also closely relates to that on an octagonal rosewood library table from Normanton Park, Rutland, illustrated in M. Jourdain, Regency Furniture 1795-1830, rev. ed., 1965, fig. 172.

A simpler table, with galleried top and smaller paw feet, is illustrated, Edward Joy, English Furniture 1800-1851, 1977, p. 64.  Related tables include: one sold, Christie's, New York, February 2, 1991, lot 148, a pair sold, Sotheby's, London, October 5, 1973, lot 146, later with Jeremy, London, sold, Christie's, New York, April 30, 1997, lot 226, and in the same sale, lot 40, both from the collection of Lord and Lady White of Hull and a center table with similarly decorated stem and winged paw feet was sold from the collection of Anne, Duchess of Westminster, was sold, Christie's, London, September 21, 2004, lot 1150.

See:

Geoffrey Beard and Christopher Gilbert, The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1640-1840, Leeds, 1986