The lotus-leaf shaft and the heavy gadrooning of the circular base, combined with the large carved mahogany feet on this handsome breakfast-table are distinctive traits of the work of the Edinburgh cabinet-maker William Trotter (d.1833). Among his furniture discussed by F. Bamford in 'A Dictionary of Edinburgh Wrights and Furniture Makers 1660-1840', Furniture History, Leeds, 1983, pp. 115-122 are several pieces made for Paxton House in 1814, among which pl. 54b, 55b and 61 demonstrate his use of gadrooned mouldings, and the exaggerated paw foot, while pl. 67, from the Signet Library in Edinburgh, circa 1822, is a fine example of the lotus-leaf carving, seen here on the collar of the leg, rather than on the base of the shaft as with the present lot.