IN THE MANNER OF MAYHEW & INCE, CIRCA 1760

The reading stand corresponds closely to a design published in Messrs Mayhew and Ince's The Universal System of Household Furniture, 1762, pl.XXVI. They described it as a 'reading or music desk', featuring brass quadrant candlesticks, formerly fitted to the present example. A similar stand from a private collection was sold Sotheby's London, 22 November 2006, lot 211.