AFTER A DESIGN BY THOMAS HOPE, CIRCA 1820

This table is directly inspired by a table designed by the connoisseur Thomas Hope (d.1831) for his Duchess Street mansion whose pattern appeared in his A Collection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decoration of 1807, plate XXXIX. Hope, a collector and patron of Scottish descent, was an enthusiastic and influential promoter of the gout grec following his grand tour of 1787-1795 which imbued him with the 'Spirit of Corinth and Athens'. His direct influence can be seen in the designs published by the architect and furniture-designer George Smith. Hope's table is now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Another table based on Hope's prototype and executed in contra partie inlaid brass is illustrated in M. Jourdain, Regency Furniture 1795-1830, London, 1965, p.34, fig.55.