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Lot Essay
‘It is in simplicity that all real decoration is to be found’ (Sir John Soane, 1753-1837)
This Regency brass-mounted and ebony-inlaid serving-table is virtually identical to a table supplied to the Bank of England in the early 19th century, part of an extensive refurbishment from 1793 to 1815, which shared the austerity of John Soane’s decorative scheme (M. Jourdain, ‘Early 19th-Century Furniture at the Bank of England’, Country Life, 3 October 1947, p. 676 and fig. 8). The present table, and the Bank of England table, are closely related to one supplied in 1810 to Charles Madryll Cheere of Papworth Hall, described in the accounts as a: ‘capital mahogany sideboard supported on a stand, reeded legs and carved and bronzed paw feet, with antique bronze heads’ (ibid.). The Papworth Hall table was accompanied by ‘pedestals to match’, and the family records show that Oakley completely furnished this mansion in 1810 (see M. Jourdain, 'English Empire Furniture made by George Oakley', Architectural Review, December 1920, plate IV for an image of one of the pedestals). Other examples of this model include: a table from the Bedford Hotel, Brighton (illustrated in J.C. Rogers, English Furniture, rev. edn., 1959, p. 235, fig. 189; sold Christie’s, New York, 9 April 2003, lot 27, $33,460 including premium); a further pair of consoles is illustrated in Partridge's Summer Exhibition, 1986, pp. 78-79, no. 30; a table sold Sotheby's, New York, 16 October 1982, lot 548 and another Sotheby’s, New York, 5 May 1989, lot 116.
Oakley was a subscriber to Sheraton’s Cabinet Dictionary (1803) and possibly found inspiration for this model in plate 71 of the publication, which is closely comparable.
This Regency brass-mounted and ebony-inlaid serving-table is virtually identical to a table supplied to the Bank of England in the early 19th century, part of an extensive refurbishment from 1793 to 1815, which shared the austerity of John Soane’s decorative scheme (M. Jourdain, ‘Early 19th-Century Furniture at the Bank of England’, Country Life, 3 October 1947, p. 676 and fig. 8). The present table, and the Bank of England table, are closely related to one supplied in 1810 to Charles Madryll Cheere of Papworth Hall, described in the accounts as a: ‘capital mahogany sideboard supported on a stand, reeded legs and carved and bronzed paw feet, with antique bronze heads’ (ibid.). The Papworth Hall table was accompanied by ‘pedestals to match’, and the family records show that Oakley completely furnished this mansion in 1810 (see M. Jourdain, 'English Empire Furniture made by George Oakley', Architectural Review, December 1920, plate IV for an image of one of the pedestals). Other examples of this model include: a table from the Bedford Hotel, Brighton (illustrated in J.C. Rogers, English Furniture, rev. edn., 1959, p. 235, fig. 189; sold Christie’s, New York, 9 April 2003, lot 27, $33,460 including premium); a further pair of consoles is illustrated in Partridge's Summer Exhibition, 1986, pp. 78-79, no. 30; a table sold Sotheby's, New York, 16 October 1982, lot 548 and another Sotheby’s, New York, 5 May 1989, lot 116.
Oakley was a subscriber to Sheraton’s Cabinet Dictionary (1803) and possibly found inspiration for this model in plate 71 of the publication, which is closely comparable.