Town of Emanuel, dealers in & manufacturers of antique furniture, curiosities, & pictures, of 103 New Bond STreet, flourished from 1830 until the sale of the 'Magnificent and Extensive Stock' by Christie's, April 19, 1849. Like their contemporary Edward Holmes Baldock (d. 1854), Town and Emanuel both manufacturing and dealing, were instrumental in the 'Buhl' revival in French objects, bronze d'ameublement and case furniture in the tradition of the Marchand Merciers country, The Duke of Buccleugh, the 3rd Lord Braybrooke, The Duke of Buckingham and The Marquis of Buckhingham amongst their principal patrons. The 1849 sale catalogue reveals that they sold both 'ancient and modern furniture' with ecclectic tastes reaching beyond France the suite of seat furniture from the Doge's Palace in Venice, as well as numerous items from Fonthill, Wanstead.. Grimsthorpe, Strawberry Hill and Stowe.

Edmund Parker, 2nd Earl of Morley (d. 1864), lord-in-waiting to Prince Albert and later groom-in-waiting to Queen Victoria, had inherited the heavily encumbered estate at Saltram in 1840. He became dependant upon his wife, and ultimately his mother-in-law, who lent him ¨30,000 between 1852-61, for the regeneration of Saltram, and it was almost certainly his wife Harriet Sophia, a wealthy widow in her own right, who acquired this piece shortly before her marriage

A closely related table en chiffonière was sold anonymously in these Rooms, 31 October 1946, lot 67