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Lot Essay
This boldly-carved table once formed part of the celebrated collection of Sir John H. Ward that he assembled in his homes at Chilton, Berkshire and Dudley House, London. Dudley House, where this table stood, was one of London's impressive mansions that lined Park Lane. Originally built in 1826 for the first Earl of Dudley (who died insane) it was significantly embellished by the eleventh Lord Ward after 1855 and was leased in 1895 by the South African collector-millionaire, J.B. Robinson. Sir John Ward re-purchased the lease of Dudley House in 1912, and lived there until 1938.
John Ward was one of a select group who formed remarkable collections of mid-Georgian furniture at the early part of the twentieth century. His magnificent collection is discussed in a four-part article by Herbert Cescinsky published in The Connoisseur in January-August 1921. This table is illustrated in the second installment of the article.
The Greek key pattern is a favored architectural motif that appears in the designs of Inigo Jones and William Kent. It features prominently on a Kent design of 1744 for a pedestal table at Chiswick House (see P.Ward-Jackson, English Furniture Designs of the Eighteenth Century, London, 1958, pl.15). A table of similar design but with sweeping foliate brackets was sold Christie's London, 11 April 1985, lot 132. Another formerly at Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire is illustrated in situ in the Great Hall, which was decorated in circa 1730-1740, in C. Hussey, English Houses, Early Georgian 1715-1760, Woodbridge, 1955, p. 202, fig.361.
John Ward was one of a select group who formed remarkable collections of mid-Georgian furniture at the early part of the twentieth century. His magnificent collection is discussed in a four-part article by Herbert Cescinsky published in The Connoisseur in January-August 1921. This table is illustrated in the second installment of the article.
The Greek key pattern is a favored architectural motif that appears in the designs of Inigo Jones and William Kent. It features prominently on a Kent design of 1744 for a pedestal table at Chiswick House (see P.Ward-Jackson, English Furniture Designs of the Eighteenth Century, London, 1958, pl.15). A table of similar design but with sweeping foliate brackets was sold Christie's London, 11 April 1985, lot 132. Another formerly at Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire is illustrated in situ in the Great Hall, which was decorated in circa 1730-1740, in C. Hussey, English Houses, Early Georgian 1715-1760, Woodbridge, 1955, p. 202, fig.361.