An important pair of George III polychrome-painted satinwood and parcel-gilt white-painted D-shaped pier tables in the manner of Thomas Chippendale circa 1780

Each D-shaped top with a banding painted with floral garlands, the conforming frieze with flowerheads within roundels alternating with sheaved acanthus sprays raised on circular fluted tapering legs headed by oval patera with acanthus-carved capitals and ending in stiff leaves and joined by fluted and beaded stretchers centered by a foliate-form finial and raised on toupee feet.  The underside of one with an paper label printed Jas. Bowman & Sons / 109 / MONK BAR, YORK.

Apter-Fredericks, London

illustrated, Herbert Cescinsky, English Furniture of the Eighteenth Century, Vol. III, London, 1911, p. 32, fig. 19

Overall good condition; beautiful color and figuring to the satinwood; finely painted floral bandings to the tops; gilding and cream-painting refreshed; the stretchers with some old repaired cracks to the undersides of the stretchers; one stretcher with losses to four gilt-beads; some chips and losses to the paint of feet; the painted floral bandings to the tops maintaining the majority of the original decoration with some minor chips and losses to paint as well as some minor areas of inpainting; tables are sturdy and very well-carved and executed.
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.

These tables with their beautifully figured satinwood tops painted with floral bandings and their distinctive frieze and legs are similar to the work of Thomas Chippendale and to the designs of Thomas Sheraton.  The frieze specifically recalls the work of Chippendale at Harewood House including a pier table with marquetry top with a nearly identical frieze and to the inlaid frieze of the Harewood House library table, now in the Leeds Art Gallery (Christopher Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, New York, 1978 vol. II, p. 242 and 265, figs. 442, 443, and 485).

The design of the stretchers and overall profile of the table is very similar to Sheraton’s design for a pier table as illustrated in ‘The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book,’ London 1793, Plat IV from the Appendix.  Sheraton states, ‘As pier tables are merely for ornament under a glass, they are generally made very light, and the style of finishing them is rich and elegant.  Sometimes the tops are solid marble, but most commonly veneered in rich satin, or other valuable wood with a cross-band on the outside, a border about two inches richly japanned, and a narrow cross-band beyond it, to go all around.  The frames are commonly gold, or white and burnished gold.  Stretching-rails have of late been introduced to these tables, and it must be owned that it is with good effect…they afford an opportunity of fixing a vase or basket of flowers.’

A similar pair of pier tables with satinwood tops, japanned foliate-banded and similar stretchers sold at Sotheby’s London, November 15, 1996, lot 75.

Designed by Robert Adam in 1758, Harewood House was one of Adam’s most impressive and complete houses, which allowed him the ability to completely design the exterior and interior of the house to his own specifications for Edward Lascelles, Earl of Harewood.  It was completed in 1765 at which time he began to design the architectural embellishments of seventeen rooms, making this Adam’s largest commission.  It is interesting to note that Adam did not make any furniture designs for the house, the entire commission going to Thomas Chippendale, whose furniture more than compliments the internal architecture and space (Eileen Harris, The Genius of Robert Adam, New Haven and London, 2001, p. 137)  This furniture commission began in the 1770s and lasted until the death of the Earl in 1795.