An early George III papier-mâché and giltwood table, circa 1760, the top attributed to Henry Clay, the base attributed to John Linnell

Using close stylistic comparison, we can say with relative confidence that this rare table brings together the skilled handiwork of two craftsmen excelling in their fields: Henry Clay, the inventor of new and exciting developments in papier-mâché, and the furniture maker John Linnell. This judgement is strengthened by the fact that Yvonne Jones, the foremost expert on papier-mâché, notes that only a few Clay pieces are documented today, but given their desirability and cost, “it is likely that there are others which simply await identification”.¹

Clay’s papier-mâché top

The term ‘papier-mâché’ (literally ‘chewed paper’) refers to a broad range of techniques for dampening and treating paper to create harder items with sculptural and decorative qualities. It has been present in many civilisations that have used paper as a writing tool, including China and Persia; in the context of antique English furniture, it is most familiar in its Victorian form, when it usually incorporated mother-of-pearl. However, this table dates back to the earlier breakthrough of papier-mâché in England during the 1770s, thanks to the technical innovations of John Baskerville (1706–75) and his apprentice Henry Clay (d.1812). Between them, Baskerville and Clay created a refined new form of papier-mâché that was strong, heat-resistant and did not warp. They took out a patent on 20th November 1772 for this “new improved paper-ware” and it soon found rapid commercial and artistic success.²

Clay’s papier-mâché presented the ideal medium for glossy ‘japanned’ decoration imitating Japanese lacquer, and the majority of surviving pieces from this period are tea caddies and smaller ornaments in this style. However, their new invention coincided with the first surge of Neoclassical taste, and documented pieces made by Clay in this style do include some pieces of larger-scale furniture. A famous example is a Pembroke table at Osterley Park (NT 771794), whose elegant grisaille scenes were copied directly from those on an ancient vase in Sir Hamilton’s collection.³ Several Clay demi-lune tables with richly Neoclassical tops are also documented,⁴ but the most relevant comparable examples from a design perspective are a tray and a corner cupboard by Clay: these combine Classical figures, decorative borders and tightly striped backgrounds in the same manner as the present table.⁵

Linnell’s giltwood base

This table base is an example of a blend of Rococo and Neoclassical design, a strong point in the work of John Linnell (1729–1796). Linnell’s supple originality of design was married to a superbly high standard of execution in his workshops, making his consistently brilliant furniture central to some of the eighteenth-century’s most renowned interiors. Much like Thomas Chippendale and his other eminent competitors, his success relied on a ready flexibility of design styles: his output ranges from the whimsically Chinese trellis-back furniture for Badminton House (W.34-1990) to the harmonious excellence of his lyre-back chairs for Osterley Park (NT 771748.10) and much in between. This adaptability meant that, when he designed furniture that linked the sinuous Rococo curve and the dignified Classical line, Linnell was able to avoid some of the aesthetic unease that can sometimes underpin pieces in this so-called ‘Transitional’ style. 

Numerous Linnell designs for chairs share this table’s combination of a curved or serpentine outline with Classical fluting,⁶ while the alternation between elegant tendrils and draped husks is also clearly displayed on one of his designs for a table (E.261-1929). Indeed, these pendant swags of husks feature on numerous designs for various furniture forms, often but not exclusively on those with straight legs.⁷ Cabriole legs are rarer in Linnell’s furniture of this style, but can be observed on a set of giltwood armchairs at Osterley Park (NT 771772). The delicate carving to the knee of this model is unusual for Linnell but can be seen on a pair of giltwood armchairs with cabriole front legs that were sold at Christie’s London, 10th April 2003, lot 87.

Ann Cargill

Sandy Devas, curator of the Lennox-Boyd Collection, has identified the medallion in the centre of this table top as a depiction of the singer Ann Cargill (née Brown, 1760–1784). The unusual drapery of the veil clearly corresponds to a 1776 print that can be found in the Fitzwilliam Museum, P.11055-R: this print, after a painting by Matthew William Peters, depicts her in costume in Sheridan’s hugely successful opera The Duenna. This was a role she originated in 1775, launching her to fame aged just fifteen. Her eventful later life would see her follow a lover to Calcutta in 1783 but tragically die in a shipwreck in 1784, her body washing up on the shore clutching an infant. 

¹ Y. Jones, Japanned Papier-mache and Tinware c.1740–1940, Woodbridge, 2012, p.127.

² ‘Henry Clay’, British and Irish Furniture Makers Online, available at: <https://bifmo.furniturehistorysociety.org/entry/clay-henry-1772-1812> [accessed 27th March 2025].

³ The vase’s design is reproduced in the contemporary catalogue by P-F. Hughes, Baron d’Hancarville, Collection of Etruscan, Greek and Roman antiquities from the cabinet of the Honourable William Hamilton, 1766, vol II, pl.128 (p.438 of the digitised version). Available at: <https://archive.org/details/collectionofetru02hami/page/n438/mode/1up [accessed 27th March 2025]

⁴ See those reproduced in Y. Jones, Japanned Papier-Mâché and Tinware c.1740–1940, Woodbridge, 2012, pp. 131-133, figs. 113-115. The pair in fig. 113 were made for Lord Bristol, as detailed in Y. Jones, ‘A Recent Discovery of Two Papier-Mache Pier Tables by Henry Clay’, The Furniture History Society Newsletter, no.162, May 2006, pp.1-4.

⁵ The tray, which is stamped ‘CLAY/PATENT’, sold Sotheby’s London, 13th January 2009, lot 151. The corner cupboard is in the Victoria & Albert Museum (W.1:1, 2-2011).

⁶ See several of Linnell’s designs in the V&A collection, the most relevant of which are E.109-1929, E.67-1929 and E.110-1929.

⁷ Again E.109-1929, E.67-1929 and E.110-1929 are the most relevant but see also E.75-1929.