BY ELKINGTON & CO., BIRMINGHAM, THE DESIGN BY LEONARD MOREL-LADEUIL, CIRCA 1870

Details

A VICTORIAN ELECTROPLATE 'RENAISSANCE REVIVAL' CENTRE TABLE
BY ELKINGTON & CO., BIRMINGHAM, THE DESIGN BY LEONARD MOREL-LADEUIL, CIRCA 1870
The table top centred by a female figure holding poppies and emblematic of sleep encircled by a continuous frieze of Classical figures and putti amongst billowing clouds in low relief and a convex outer band decorated with grotesques and arabesques, the rim mounted with alternating snakes and demon heads, signed 'Elkington C/ Tece [?]r' and 'Morel Ladeuil/ invet et sculp. 1862', on a baluster support decorated with flowers above a circular base mounted with three seated Renaissiance courtiers in contemplation and on three scroll feet each centred by a Tudor rose, the base signed 'ELKINGTON & CO.', dated 'Y', and numbered '1320'
41 ¼ in. (104.5 cm.) high; 28 ¼ in. (72 cm.) diameter

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU or, if the UK has withdrawn from the EU without an agreed transition deal, from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice. Specified lots are being stored at Crozier Park Royal (details below) or will be removed from Christie’s, 8 King Street, London, SW1Y 6QT by 5.00pm on the day of the sale. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. If the lot has been transferred to Crozier Park Royal, it will be available for collection from 12.00pm on the second business day following the sale. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crozier Park Royal. All collections from Crozier Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s, 8 King Street, it will be available for collection on any working day (not weekends) from 9.00am to 5.00pm

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Lot Essay

The original model for the present table was first exhibited in 1862 International Exhibition, London, where it was singled out as one the
‘principal pieces’ exhibited by Elkington & Co. in an illustrated contemporary catalogue. The description provides us with some insight into the theatrical design by Elkington’s leading artist and sculptor, Léonard Morel-Ladeuil (French, 1820 - 1888), informing readers ‘The subject of this design is intended to represent the dreams of three figure – a minstrel, a soldier, and a husbandman—who sleep at the base, they being under the influence of the goddess who floats over the centre, strewing poppies around. / The execution of this work occupied nearly three years’ (International Exhibition, 1862. Class 33. Catalogue of Some of the Principal Pieces Exhibited by
Elkington & Co., Manufacturers of Artistic Works in Silver, Bronze, and other Metals, By Special Appointment to Her Most Gracious Majesty The Queen, 1862, p. 4).
One year following the presentation of the table at the Exhibition, a silver répoussée eaxmple was presented to Alexandra of Denmark upon her marriage to HRH Prince Albert, the future Edward VII, by the city of Birmingham on 10 March 1863. The gift was well documented by the palace and two albumen print images of the table remain in the Royal Collection
(inv. RCIN 2923333 and RCIN 2923334). Proving to be a popular model, the table was also exhibited at the 1867 International Exhibition, Paris, and the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia where it was dubbed the ‘Silver Fairy Table’ (see W. Smith, The Masterpieces of the Centennial International Exhibition – Industrial Art, pp. 458-459. In order to appeal to larger market, the table was produced in both silver and in Elkington’s trademark electroplated silver, as seen in the present lot.

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