A FINE AND RARE GEORGE III MARQUETRY INLAID HAREWOOD AND SATINWOOD WORK TABLE circa 1770

variously veneered with harewood, satinwood, purple heart and variously stained and engraved woods, the top of serpentine form, the conforming frieze of bombé form above a shaped apron and similarly inlaid with panels and continuing to banded and panel inlaid cabriole legs, the front with a concealed drawer pulling forward to a leather-lined surface rising and adjustable on an elegantly shaped support, one side with a long drawer fitted with small compartments for bottles.

The Collection of Algernon West, Esq., sold, Sotheby's, London, February 6, 1970, lot 101

With Asprey and Company Ltd., London, 1970

Private Collection

With Asprey Antiques, London, 1985

The Antique Dealers Fair and Exhibition, Grosvenor House, London, June 10 - 25, 1970, Exhibited by Asprey and Company Ltd., London, catalogue page 21

International Art Treasures Exhibition, Bath, August 11 - September 8, 1973, Exhibited by Asprey & Co. Ltd., no. 102, p. 14, pl. 102

Catalogue, Asprey Antiques, London, October 1985, p. 1

Top with slight movement following lateral lines of construction with slight cracking running through the marquetry but with no losses. Polish a little dry and dull and possibly needing to be revived by a competent cabinetmaker to equate it more with the frieze which has a greater depth of color. Some small cracks to veneers following lines of construction of the legs with the frame. An exceptionally conceived and constructed table of great quality.
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.

This rare small table, which is of exceptional quality and design, has been tentatively attributed to the workshop of John Cobb of 72 St. Martin's Lane, London, (c.1715-1778), but is more probably the work of a possibly yet unidentified cabinet maker working in London in the 1770s. An extensive group of commodes and tables are recorded which are similarly inlaid with sprays of flowers and with finely executed marquetry panels depicting various military and agricultural trophies as found on the present table.

The group as a whole, but not the present table, is fully discussed by Lucy Wood in The Lady Lever Art Gallery - Catalogue of Commodes, London, 1994, in which she uses the term the Stanmer Group. She notes that several pieces of case furniture in the Lady Lever Art Gallery have several characteristics in common, both in their construction, veneers, and marquetry decoration, one of them being a commode formerly at Stanmer Park, the seat of Thomas Pelham, Earl of Chichester (Wood, op. cit, no. 11). Although she suggests several leading London cabinet-makers, including John Cobb, and also Pierre Langlois, she finally concludes 'That the dearth of documentation for this furniture tends increasingly to implicate the practice of a habitual sub-contractor, as does the uncertain evidence relating to the Nostell Commode' which is inlaid with similar flowers to the present table, 'which might be construed to show that Chippendale supplied it, though he undoubtedly did not make it... The maker of this group may therefore persist in eluding discovery, but the likely field must in fact be fairly restricted. The very strong French characteristics...point to a craftsman with first-hand experience of Parisian cabinet making'. Wood also mentions a possible connection with the 'Anglo-Swedish circle, whose collective experience included practice in northwest Germany and Amsterdam, as well as Paris', mentioning the work of George Haupt and Christopher Fuhrlohg as having some similarities.

It is interesting to note that the agricultural trophy inlaid on the top is identical to one on a small commode illustrated by Margaret Jourdain and F. Rose, English Furniture - The Georgian Period, (1750-1830), London, 1953, p. 146, fig. 114.

See:
The Antique Collector, June 1971, Edward T. Joy and Brian Somerset Kern,  'An English Neo-Classic Commode and Some Interesting Comparisons', pp 126-133