A George IV rosewood, elm and specimen woods centre table circa 1820 by S. Jamar

stamped S JAMAR to the top and to the top of the block, with a circular tilt-top, on a pylon base and quatrefoil platform, raised on scroll feet

Overall this table is in very good condition. The colour and patination are very good. There is slight characteristic warping to the top which also has some age cracks. The base is rather scuffed and there are losses to the scroll carving on the feet which has been crudely restored with filler in places and could benefit from further attention.
"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."

S. Jamar, a London-based cabinetmaker often working in the French manner, is first recorded in 1818 at 29 Wardour Street, Soho. There he advertised furniture 'equal to any made in Paris, and at a rate that upon calculation will be admitted considerably advantageous than importing from abroad...'.  The following year he opened a showroom in Gerrard Street, at which he invited the public to view 'Superb French Cabinet Furniture from his Manufactory' including 'a beautiful secretaire representing the French coffee house in Paris with 1000 columns'.  In 1826 he organised an exhibition of furniture in Liverpool 'which for taste in design and elegance in execution...can find no parallel'.  After 1826, he disappears from the record books. his apparently brief career seems however to have been a success, since he was able to boast on his trade label that he was 'Cabinet Maker to Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland'. 

The offered lot, whilst of the same quality as other stamped pieces by him, forms part of another group stylistically rather than his more usual output. Perhaps inspired more by the work produced around him by other cabinet makers in England rather than his regular source of inspiration, Empire ebenistes working on the Continent (see lot 136).

Interestingly, around 1820, he was actively looking for business partners to develop specialist timber cutting machinery. One of these devices, it was claimed could 'cut six veneers or more, in the inch, in mahogany or any other wood' there was also a machine which was able to 'saw Sixty Boards' at once, of any thickness not less than a quarter of an inch'. It is possible that this new technology was deployed in the offered lot and whilst in no way possible to prove it would be lovely to think that the table offered here with its a huge array of cleverly arranged veneers was produced to demonstrate these machines and the variety of woods they could handle, something Jamar was so desperate to prommote. See Beard and Gilbert (ed) The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, Leeds, 1986, p. 478.

For comparison of work with wonderfully cut and cleverly arranged veneers see a Regency rosewood breakfast table stamped Jamar,  sold Christie's London, 2 February 1995, lot 69, also see a rectangular parquetry centre table, sold these rooms, 20 November, 1992, lot 185.