Lot Essay
This magnificent side table is a direct copy of the pair of tables supplied by William Rhodes, at a cost of £72.0.0, to Lord George Sackville for the dining room at Drayton House, Northamptonshire in 1771 (see C. Musgrave, Adam and Hepplewhite; and other Neo Classical Furniture, London, 1966, p. 125). One of the tables is illustrated in Francis Lenygon's volume on English Furniture (F. Lenygon, Furniture in England from 1660-1770, London, 1920, p. 139, fig. 209) and it is highly likely that it was commissioned following publication. Interestingly Lord Berner's uncle Captain James Foster is also listed as a subscriber to the volume and it is possible that this table may have been commissioned by him or another member of the Foster family for one of their Shropshire houses.