A PAIR OF GEORGE III GILTWOOD AND GESSO DEMI-LUNE PIER TABLES, PROBABLY BY FRANÇOIS HERVÉ, THE DESIGN POSSIBLY BY JAMES WYATT circa 1780

each with a white marble top above a rosette frieze, the pair of front legs surmounted by simulated fringe drapes, the tapered fluted legs with leaf carving and stop-fluted at base both tables with the remains of printed labels for Devonshire House, losses and cut down

Devonshire House Inventory, 1811, probably the 2 dove marble slabs on painted frames in Her Graces Drawing Room

Fair condition. The marble tops have some filler and light chips. The bases have many losses to the gilt gesso decoration with some separations and cracks throughout. The gilding is flaky, chipped and dirty. One table is missing a carved swag decoration to the top of two legs.
"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."

This elegant pair of pier tables bear many of the hallmarks of the French émigré cabinet maker François Hervé. The use of the stepped tablet in the centre of the frieze and at the ends of the frieze adjacent to the leg are somewhat a leitmotif of his work and appear of the chairs and benches  which appear in this sale as lots 240, 242 and 243.

These tables may also be compared with those that were made for the Music Room (now the Blue Drawing) Room at Chatsworth designed by John Carr of York and made by Sefferin Nelson (see Ivan Hall, A neo-classical episode at Chatsworth, Burlington Magazine, June 1980). The tables offered here exhibit four holes beneath their frieze which would most likely have originally held either scrolls or swags as found on the tables in the Music Room. The upper parts of the legs are 'covered' by a giltwood swag of material reflecting the giltwood curtain swags also by Sefferin Nelson designed for the same room. Unlike the Music Room tables, these do not appear to have had stretchers (although they have been reduced in height, their feet being removed at some unknown time). Given Hervé's connection with the Duke and Duchess and the work both at Chatsworth and Devonshire House he would have certainly been aware of the tables attributed to Nelson and appears to have worked alongside Nelson on both commissions.