Table
Order image © All images subject to copyright
Commentary
Previous exhibition labels
- Open Furniture Month
- Open Furtniture Month, May 2014
- RED DRAWING ROOM
- For Open Furniture Month this year, Waddesdon Guides have chosen some of their favourite pieces.
- South German Table, 1710-1720
- Maker – unknown
- Carcase (and drawer) – oak; aprons – pearwood; veneered with tortoise-shell
- Inlay - pewter, brass, mother-of-pearl; top inlaid with lapis lazuli, agate, aventurine and a variety of marbles
- Mounts – gilt bronze
- My selection of this small 18th-century German table from a Collection which boasts so many fine pieces of French furniture may seem odd, but this beautiful object has fascinated me since I first noticed it on becoming a volunteer seven years ago.
- The minutely detailed scene is a perspective view of the public square of a fantasy city with elegant buildings, fountains and obelisks.
- A masterpiece of intricate marquetry, the craftsman chose his materials carefully: the sky is suggested by the blue of lapis lazuli; the silver-grey stone of the palaces by shimmering mother-of-pearl, engraved to suggest stonework, door arches and window panes; while the pavements are of tortoiseshell. Agate, aventurine (a form of quartz, usually green), marbles, pewter, and brass all add to the sparkling effect. The simple construction of the shallow drawer is in striking contrast to this elaborate design.
- But what really fascinate me are the figures peopling the square: some ride in horse-drawn carriages; others converse; still more promenade proudly, showing off their fine clothing. Those from lower social classes ride in carts, sell their wares, and watch a performance on the open-air stage. One man transports his produce in a large basket on his back; another carries building tools; a third pushes a wheelbarrow – which appears to contain a pig! Also, note two dogs fighting while another rushes to join in.
- The border presents us with more figures, this time some of them Oriental in character. As well as animals, buildings and trees, we find medallions containing portrait busts and panels of lapis inset with agate.
- Even the legs are elaborately decorated - with butterflies, snails, and fountains, arabesques - while the stretchers between the legs are inlaid with motifs of mother-of-pearl, including pyramids and dolphins.
- The marqueteur would have worked mainly from engravings, including reproductions of illustrations in Jan Nieuhof’s account of the Dutch embassy to China, first published in 1665 – a popular source for decorative artists in the century which followed.
- This table shares a room with a rare Savonnerie carpet, furniture made for the French royal family, Gainsborough and Reynolds portraits, and Sèvres vases, yet easily holds its own in such grand surroundings – a true tour de force of craftsmanship.
- Provenance: acquired by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild
- Accession number: 2271.1; W1/5/6
- Carol Hardy
- House Guide
- Images:
- Use image of table top from p29 of Companion Guide
- Detail of table legs. Photo Hugo Maertens © The National Trust, Waddesdon Manor
- Detail of apron. Photo Hugo Maertens © The National Trust, Waddesdon Manor
History
Collection
- Waddesdon (National Trust)
- Bequest of James de Rothschild, 1957
Bibliography
Related files
- Entry from (Bellaigue, 1974):, http://api.waddesdon.org.uk/docs/Furniture/2271.1.pdf