A George III satinwood, harewood, tulipwood and marquetry Pembroke table, circa 1775

Previously in the collection of Mary Pauline Cookson.

'Pembroke' tables are, according to Thomas Sheraton, said to be named after "the lady who first gave orders for one of them, and who probabaly gave the first idea of such a table to the workmen", possibly Elizabeth Herbert, Countess of Pembroke (1737–1831).¹ Their form and ornament followed wider trends in furniture design, which in the late eighteenth century often gave preference to marquetry. While oval-form tables were more common, square and rectangular tops are also seen on the work of important furniture makers including Mayhew and Ince, and also William Moore of Dublin, who had trained in their workshop in London.² Calke Abbey in Derbyshire has a rectangular Pembroke table (NT 288463), though with inlaid marquetry in a different manner, and a few notable examples of rectangular Pembroke tables on the market have also featured showpiece marquetry with tendrils and floral details that recalls the present lot.

¹ T. Sheraton, The Cabinet Dictionary, New York, 1973, vol II, p.284.

² For Mayhew and Ince, see H. Roberts and C. Cator, Industry and Ingenuity: The Partnership of William Ince and John Mayhew, London, 2022, p.399, figs.431 and 432.

For William Moore, see J. Peill and the Knight of Glin, Irish Furniture, New Haven, 2007, pp.162-167 for examples of marquetry in various forms and Christie's London, 4th July 2002, lot 17 for a rectangular Pembroke table "possibly by William Moore of Dublin".

³ see Sotheby's New York, 21st October 2005, lot 8; Sotheby's New York, 18th October 1997, lot 501 and the example pictured in Country Life, 23rd October 1969, p.1039.