Lot Essay
The Mediterranean tree shrub arbutus unedo has always flourished in the mild and damp climate of western Ireland. In the 19th Century it became the standard cabinet-making wood at Killarney in the far south west. Although Cavan and Enniskillen are over one hundred miles from Killarney it is possible that this sofa table is made of arbutus rather than yew.
Bell is largely unrecorded, although a 'sofa table', possibly this work-table, is listed in the Victoria and Albert Museum archives with this label (The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, Leeds, 1986, p. 61).
Bell is largely unrecorded, although a 'sofa table', possibly this work-table, is listed in the Victoria and Albert Museum archives with this label (The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, Leeds, 1986, p. 61).