IN THE MANNER OF ROBERT ADAM, CIRCA 1775, THE TOPS ROMAN, LATE 18TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF GEORGE III GILTWOOD SIDE TABLES
IN THE MANNER OF ROBERT ADAM, CIRCA 1775, THE TOPS ROMAN, LATE 18TH CENTURY
Each with 18th century Roman gilt-bronze mounted verde antico marble veneered top with flower and guilloche cast ormolu edge, the frieze carved with paterae and stiff-leaf bunches, on turned tapering fluted legs headed by acanthus and with paterae-carved blocks, joined by concave-fronted stretchers carved with entrelac and on later turned tapering feet, the frame possibly slightly altered to accommodate the tops
33 ½ in.(85.1 cm.) high, 70 ½ in.(179 cm.) wide, 27 in.(69 cm.) deep

Provenance

The Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection; Christie’s, New York, 9 October 1993, lot 193.
Acquired from Pelham Galleries, London.

Special Notice

Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

Lot Essay

Designed in the neoclassical style of Robert Adam (d. 1792), architect to King George III, these tables with their ormolu-bordered marble slabs, paired columnar legs and curved stretchers enriched with ribbon guilloche, relate to a large pier table which was supplied form the drawing room at Northumberland House, London, which Adam designed in 1773 (see: D. Owsley and W. Rieder, The Glass Drawing Room from Northumberland House, London, 1974, pls. 10 and 20. A closely related table was exhibited at the 'Third International Art Treasures Exhibition C.I.N.O.A' at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Exhibition Catalogue, 1962, no. 120, plate 85.
A very similar pair of tables with concave stretchers was sold Christie's, London, 20 November 1986, lot 194 designed by Robert Adams and originally for the home of the Earl of Coventry. Robert Adam's watercolor design inscribed in ink 'Design of a Table Frame for the Earl of Coventry' dated August 1767 (reproduced above) (Sir John Soane's Museum, Vol. 17 No. 10).

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