THE TOP CIRCA 1715, THE BASE CIRCA 1740 AND REDUCED IN WIDTH IN THE 19TH CENTURY TO FIT THE TOP, THE FRIEZE ORIGINALLY WITH FURTHER CARVED SWAGS

Although associated, both the top and base of the present lot are distinctive and the combination of the two makes a particularly unusual table. There appears to be few directly comparable pieces. The gilt-gesso top with the integration of animals within the more standard decorative strapwork and scrolling foliage show the influence of both the late 17th century French designers Daniel Marot, André Berain and particularly the lighter, more fanciful Régence elements popularized in the engravings of Nicolas Pineau. On the base, the exaggerated features of the Indian masks and vigorous, late-Baroque carving of the frieze, while also derived from late 17th century French prototypes, recalls more closely the massive decorative elements used in the furniture of the English architect William Kent.

Similar gilt-gesso examples carved with Indian masks although masks less exuberant than on the present lot include one from the collection of Lord Plender (see R.W. Symonds, Masterpieces of English Furniture and Clocks, 1986, p.72) and another in the collections of the Duke of Devonshire (see P. Macquoid, A History of English Furniture: The Age of Mahogany, 1906, p.30). A third gilt-gesso games table of the same date, with a strapwork and foliage top on an associated base with Indian masks with plumed headdresses, which are more restrained than any of the above, was sold in these Rooms, 22 April 1995, lot 242.