George II White Painted Console Table in the manner of Matthias Lock with a Breccia Africana marble top; the top 18th century, the table probably later

previously gilt.

The table, Geoffrey Bennison, London;
the top, Edric Van Vredenburgh, London.

Surface dirt, losses and flaking to the white painted decoration throughout revealing traces of older gilt and grained decoration in places, Age shrinkage at all joints but frame is very stable. Old repaired breaks to portions of the frieze. Old worm holes to the rails in places. The marble top with old repaired break across the depth and assorted replaced elements to the veneer, but only visible on closer inspection.
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.

This table is inspired by a drawing for a console table attributed to the 18th-century draughtsman, carver and furniture maker Matthias Lock in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, depicting a central mask of Hercules on the frieze flanked by drapery swags and a lion's pelt and legs in the form of scrolled uprights.  Numerous tables corresponding to this design exist, including pairs at Temple Newsam, Shugborough Hall and Wentworth Woodhouse, and a single example in the Metropolitan Museum.  The design of the present table differs with its lion monopodiae legs and more unusually the presence of a lion's mask rather than Hercules in the frieze.  A console table with scrolled upright supports and a comparable use of a central lion's mask in the frieze was in the collection of the early 20th-century cabinetmaker and antiques dealer Lenygon and Morant at their London premises in Old Burlington Street, illustrated in Francis Lenygon, The Decoration and Furniture of Old English Mansions during the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, London 1909, pp.1 and 37.