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Lot Essay
The table, with its carved ebony and exotic native timbers, is typical of furniture manufactured on the island of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) in the Galle district throughout the 19th century. While the form of the table is modeled after the robust Geroge IV antique style popularised by publications such as Thoms King's The Modern Style of Cabinet Work Exemplified of 1829, the carved ornament, including the pala-peti or lotus motif is derived from local traditions. Tables of this type were supplied to British colonists in Ceylon and India for export to England. Their popularity was noted by the traveller H.C. Sirr in 1850, who wrote that in Galle one could find 'those exquisite inlaid articles, which far surpass any specimen of Tunbridge ware that has yet been produced - ivory and various coloured native woods are inlaid upon the ebony and as the designs are well defined, the effect produced is magnificent' (A. Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon, 2001, p. 373)
A number of tables similarly inlaid with exotic woods are known, including the earliest dated example, formerly at the Royal Commonwealth Society with a presentation plaque dated 1836 (ibid., p. 272, fig. 142). A similar table formerly in the collection of Peter John Arendzen (d. 1932), sold Christie's, London, 13 May 2008, lot 231 (£38,900) and another but on a hexagonal base was sold anonymously Christie's, London, 11 September 2008, lot 222 (£52,850 including premium)
A number of tables similarly inlaid with exotic woods are known, including the earliest dated example, formerly at the Royal Commonwealth Society with a presentation plaque dated 1836 (ibid., p. 272, fig. 142). A similar table formerly in the collection of Peter John Arendzen (d. 1932), sold Christie's, London, 13 May 2008, lot 231 (£38,900) and another but on a hexagonal base was sold anonymously Christie's, London, 11 September 2008, lot 222 (£52,850 including premium)