Lot Essay
Executed in the restrained Grecian taste, this dining-table was almost certainly supplied under the direction of the architect Sir Robert Smirke, whom the 2nd Marquess of Bute engaged at both Cardiff Castle circa 1818 and Luton Park between 1825-30
With its leaves of superbly figured mahogany and its vertically- veneered frieze, it is typical of the work of Messrs. Gillow of London and Lancaster, such as the table they supplied to Stephen Tempest for Broughton Hall, Yorkshire in 1813 (M. Jourdain, 'Late Georgian Dining- Tables', Country Life, 1951, p. 1459). However, this pattern of sturdy table-leg enriched in the Grecian manner with bands of well-spaced reeds enjoyed enduring popularity and corresponds to those on a table supplied by Gillows to George, 4th Baron Vernon for Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire as late as 1831 (Gillow MSS, Sketch book no. 5179, Westminster Library).
With its leaves of superbly figured mahogany and its vertically- veneered frieze, it is typical of the work of Messrs. Gillow of London and Lancaster, such as the table they supplied to Stephen Tempest for Broughton Hall, Yorkshire in 1813 (M. Jourdain, 'Late Georgian Dining- Tables', Country Life, 1951, p. 1459). However, this pattern of sturdy table-leg enriched in the Grecian manner with bands of well-spaced reeds enjoyed enduring popularity and corresponds to those on a table supplied by Gillows to George, 4th Baron Vernon for Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire as late as 1831 (Gillow MSS, Sketch book no. 5179, Westminster Library).