A German glass bead work topped pale blue and white painted "Korallentisch" by Johann Michael van Selow, Braunschweig circa 1760

the shaped tilt-top decorated with buildings, a fountain and formal gardens on a baluster stem carved with foliage and trelliswork on three scrolled legs carved with rocaille

In overall good conserved condition.The top is slightly warped. There are some very minor losses and old minor restorations to some of the glass beads but these are hardy noticeable. The painted decoration around the moulded border of the top is worn in places and on the legs revealing the oak beneath as visible from the catalogue photograph which does not detract from the piece. There are some scattered age cracks but these are not too noticeable and can be left.
"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."

Comparative Literature:
Heinrich Kreisel, Die Kunst des deutschen Möbels, Vo. II, Munich 1970,  pp. 273-274, plate 881, for an oval table with a very similarly decorated bead work top depicting a formal garden by von Selow, in the Städtlisches Museum, Braunschweig, reproduced here in fig.1.

The most distinctive characteristic of decorative craftsmanship of Braunschweig (Lower Saxony, Germany) is the use of bead work or `coral’ work for table tops. The most prominent maker of these was the Dutch born Johann Michael von Selow who worked under the Royal patronage of Duke Carl I of Braunschweig. The majority of the production was flat panels for use as tea or coffee tables on wooden frames. The subject-matter was often still -lives or formal garden designs as on the offered example. They were sometimes to the design of the painter Conrad Rudolph Pfeiffer. Sometimes the beads were applied to pottery or tinplate but the majority of the pieces were on a wooden frame with the design being drawn onto cardboard then traced onto the frame covered in a composition material coloured to match the main colour of different parts of the design. The beads were strung on thread and laid out onto the cardboard designs and laid into the soft composition after the strings were cut to size, the composition drying to a stone-like hardmess.

Only a few examples of this coloured beadwork survive as the workshop only existed for less than twenty years (1755-72). Often exported to other countries these table tops were then integrated into local table structures,  such as that on a Lombard card table, sold in these Rooms, 8^th December 2004, lot 35 (£25,000).

The most well known examples of this type of beadwork table is in the Chinese Palace at the Orienbaum complex of palaces (now Lomonsov), near St. Petersburg. There is also an example in the collection of the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle in Yorkshire.

Other beadwork tables from the van Selow workshop were sold as follows:
-from the collection of Arne Schlesch, Sotheby’s, New York, 5^th April 2000, lot 336.
-another closely related example was sold from the Royal House of Hanover, Sotheby’s, House sale, Schloss Marienburg, 8^th October 2005, lot 1465.
-also see a very similar example with depicting a garden, sold from an Important Private Collection from Hanover, Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, 27^th March 2007, lot 448.