AN IMPORTANT GEORGE III MARQUETRY INLAID ROSEWOOD PEMBROKE TABLE circa 1775

the figured oval cross banded and line inlaid top with two flaps, and inlaid at the center with an oval fan medallion within cross banding and pearl beading and a broad band of figured veneer inlaid with anthemion, and encircled by ribbon tied swags of husks, the bowed ends with one drawer and each inlaid at the center with a flower head patera and with similar swags of husks, the square tapered legs headed by tablets inlaid with fluting, and edged with boxwood stringing, the toes capped in brass cups.

John Nicholson, Fine Art Auctioneers, Haslemere, Surrey, 2001

The catalogue illustration is a fair representation of the color and tone. The top with some small old repairs to the veneers and bandings. The screws to one hinge just pushing the veneer slightly on one hinge. Some integral cracking to the veneer. The undersides of the leaves with old butterfly repairs. The undersides of the top with later supporting boards. There are a few very small repairs to bandings on the drawer. The top has lost much of the engraved detail but more remains to the drawer fronts. Minor 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.

This present table belongs to a small group of four or five virtually identical pembroke tables, a pair of card tables and an oval tray, all of which clearly emanate from the same workshop, almost certainly that of John Mayhew and William Ince.

The attribution is based on the partnership's documented and attributed use of motifs closely related to the present table such as the central sunflower and fan patera and anthemion within pearl borders, blind fluting, and draped husks, and the use of various vigorously figured veneers, all of which form part of their oeuvre.

The first of the comparable pembroke tables was formerly in the North Drawing room at Ham House, Middlesex, and was first illustrated by Mts. Charles Roundell, Ham House, Its History and Art Treasures, London, 1904, vol. I, and was subsequently sold by the Countess of Dysart, Sotheby's, London, April 10, 1972, lot 64, this table probably being one of the pair exhibited by Norman Adams at The Grosvenor House Antiques Fair, London, June 14-24, 1972 , page 19, another was sold Sotheby's, London, April 24, 1998, lot 101, and another example from the collection of Sir Henry Price, sold Sotheby's, London, November 22, 2000, lot 182. A pair of card tables were at Sotheby's, New York, October 21-22, 2004, lot 382, and an oval tray, formerly in the Mulliner Collection is illustrated by Edwards and Macquoid, The Dictionary of English Furniture, 1953, vol. III, p. 438, fig. 8.

George Hepplewhite noted in the Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide, 3^rd Edition, 1794, that 'Pembroke Tables are the most useful of this species of furniture: they may be of various shapes. The long square and oval are the most fashionable. These articles admit of considerable elegance in the workmanship and ornaments', illustrating on plate 9, an oval table of this form.