A George III amaranth Pembroke table circa 1780

attributed to Christopher Fuhrlohg

Illustrated in Geoffrey Beard and Judith Goodison, English Furniture 1500-1840, Oxford, 1987, p.206.

This table is generally in good condition. It has been re-finished and the surface is quite shiny. There is some minor characteristic warping to the flaps. There is some old worm damage to the secondary timbers. There are some minor repairs to crossbanding.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present Pembroke table was almost certainly produced by the noted Swedish cabinet-maker and inlayer Christopher Fuhrlohg. Born in Stockholm around 1740, Fuhrlohg came of Swiss family which had earlier emigrated to Sweden. His father, Johan Hugo Furloh ( 1724-47) was also a cabinet maker. As a young man Fuhrlohg travelled to Amsterdam and later Paris, where he received his early training in the workshop of the ébéniste Simon Oeben. In 1766 or 67 he arrived in England, where he was joined the following year by his future brother in law George Haupt , who was himself a highly skilled cabinet-maker and inlayer. Both men are thought to have found employment in the workshop of John Linnell, whose surviving papers include a drawing by Fuhelohg, signed and dated 1767, which shows a marquetry commode supplied to the 5th Earl of Carlisle, a client of Linnell, now at Castle Howard, Yorkshire.

In 1769 Haupt left England to take up an appointment as furniture-maker to the Swedish king, but he was joined by his half-brother Johann Christian Linning, with whom he entered a partnership with premises at 24 Tottenham Court Road. In the years that followed Fuhrlohg regularly pariticipated in the annual exhibitions of the Free Society of Artists of Great Britain, where in 1774 a `Venus attired by the Graces in inlay', together with a `Flora in inlay'. In 1775  he exhibited a panel of `The Muse Erato' in different coloured woods inlaid' and the following year a ` Diana in stained wood, a circle'.

From 1776, Fuhrlohg worked alone, Linning having returned to Sweden that year; and in 1778 he placed an advertisement in the Morning Post, announcing that `...during the summer months he has completed several curious  and elegant pieces of furniture, inlayed after the designs of the most eminent artists, and will think himself honoured by the visits of amateurs of this kind of work; and he flatters himself that his customers will have every reason to be satisfid with their purchases, as he is able to answer for the goodness of the work which he continues to sell at the most reasonable terms'.

In later years Furlohg attracted commissions from such distinguished patrons as the Duke of Portland, Lord Howard and the Prince of Wales. In a trade card issued from the Tottenham Court Road workshop he described himself as `Ebeniste to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales' and there are recordsof payments to him in the Royal Accounts for work at Carlton House covering the period 1783-87.

In 1785 Fuhrlohg transferred his business to 22 Gerard Street, where he remained until 1787, when a sale was held of his existing stock, which is described as including Pembroke tables. After the sale Fuhrlohg returned to work, trading from new premises at 12 Great Russell Street, where he is last recorded in 1787.