The nautical symbolism of this table is of a type that is often associated with Admiral Lord Nelson and the patriotic commemoration of his victories. However, its Yorkshire provenance and particular design suggests that it could have been made by the celebrated Yorkshire carver and gilder, Thomas Ward of Hull (fl.1814-40). Ward's most famous work is The Chinese Room at Burton Constable Hall, Hull. Following a visit to the exotic interiors of the Brighton Pavilion, Sir Thomas (d.1870) and Lady Marianne Clifford-Constable commissioned Ward to decorate a room in the chinoiserie style. Ward had trained under the Italian carver James Piotti, who was established in Hull 1806-1823. The symbolism of the Chinese Room is exclusively oriental and civilian with huge twisted dragons perching dangerously at the pelmet-ends. The most expensive object in the Room was not carved by Ward but by his assistant Thomas Wilkinson Wallis. It is an exotic chair with Chinese paling in the back, around which are entwined dragons in the manner of the present table.
It would be dangerous to discount the Nelson symbolism. William Collins supplied a dolphin-supported vase, celebrating the apotheosis of Nelson, which Mrs John Fish presented to the Marine Pavilion in 1813 (see: Brighton, Royal Pavilion, Regency Festival, Exhibition Catalogue, 1948, no.116).