Lot Essay
The table appears to derive from the celebrated 'Tomb of Agrippa' sarcophagus with its bacchic panther feet and plinth, as combined with a scroll-ended Roman 'altar' table in the architect Charles Percier's design for a table illustrated in his Receuil de Décorations Intérieures, 1801, pl. XV.
Thomas Hope (d. 1831) reinterpreted his friend Percier's table design for his house in Duchess Street, as illustrated in his Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, 1807, pl. 12 and also promoted the use of 'French' decoration in the 'antique' manner. Thomas Ackermann illustrated a related bench version in his Repository of the Arts in 1813 (illustrated in C. Musgrave, Regency Furniture 1800-1830, London, 1961, pl. 1). A related mahogany and ebony-inlaid table was sold anonymously in these Rooms, 9 April 1992, lot 111
Thomas Hope (d. 1831) reinterpreted his friend Percier's table design for his house in Duchess Street, as illustrated in his Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, 1807, pl. 12 and also promoted the use of 'French' decoration in the 'antique' manner. Thomas Ackermann illustrated a related bench version in his Repository of the Arts in 1813 (illustrated in C. Musgrave, Regency Furniture 1800-1830, London, 1961, pl. 1). A related mahogany and ebony-inlaid table was sold anonymously in these Rooms, 9 April 1992, lot 111