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Lot Essay
The usefulness of such 'Pembroke tables' is discussed in Messrs. A. Hepplewhite & Co's The Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer's Guide, London, 1788, which also provided patterns for a table-top with bowed front and corners and a serpentined leg with voluted foot (pls. 62, 64 and 16). The various elements evolved from those found on card-tables supplied in 1759 for Dumfries House by Thomas Chippendale (d.1779), while an early example of serpentine legs embellished with Grecian palm-flowers featured on a chair design of 1765 provided by the architect Robert Adam and executed by Chippendale for Sir Lawrence Dundas, Bt. (C. Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, London, 1978, vol. II, figs. 402 and 176).
A similar Pembroke table with a similar veneered top was sold by Mrs. M. L. Sangster, Christie's, London, 15 April 1982, lot 72 and another was sold anonymously, Christie's, London, 25 February 1993, lot 68. A further related table was sold anonymously, Sotheby's London, 5 July 1996, lot 72.
A similar Pembroke table with a similar veneered top was sold by Mrs. M. L. Sangster, Christie's, London, 15 April 1982, lot 72 and another was sold anonymously, Christie's, London, 25 February 1993, lot 68. A further related table was sold anonymously, Sotheby's London, 5 July 1996, lot 72.