Lot Essay
This elegant form of table, with oval top, Roman-medallion inlay and herm-tapered legs, was popularised by Messrs A. Hepplewhite & Co.'s, Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide, 1788. It bears the label, with Roman urn decoration, adopted by George Oakley (d. 1841) during 1797, the year he was trading in partnership with Henry Kettle in St. Paul's Church Yard (C. Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, Leeds, 1996, pp. 42 and 43).