LATE 18TH CENTURY

This elegant centre table was conceived during the last phase of the development of Dutch marquetry furniture, between circa 1780 and 1795. Whereas marquetry furniture produced inthe preceding period - with naturalistic marquetry and picturesque ormolu mounts - attempted to emulate French examples, this later phase demonstrates a mixture of influences, whereby the influences from England gradually overshadowed those from France. This influx from England was probably stimulated by the spread of printed furniture designs, such as Heppelwhite's The Cabinet-Maker's and Upholsterer's Guide (1788) and Sheraton's The Cabinet-Maker's and Upholsterer's Drawing-Book (1794), which almost certainly became an important source of inspiration for furniture-makers in Holland. (R.J. Baarsen, Meublen en Zilver op de tentoonstelling 'Edele Eenvoud', Neo-Classicisme in Nederland in 1765-1800 Frans Halsmuseum, Haarlem, 1989, p. 119)