ATTRIBUTED TO JAMES MOORE, CIRCA 1710

THE ATTRIBUTION
James Moore the Elder (1670-1726) had premises over against the Golden Bottle in Shorts Gardens’, St. Giles-in-the-Fields and became cabinet-maker to George I and the Prince and Princess of Wales, later George II, the commissions for whom he was in partnership with John Gumley from 1714. Moore was influenced by contemporary designs from France disseminated through works such as Daniel Marot's Nouveau Livre d'Orfeverie, 1703, which included designs for silver furniture, and by the work of Jean, René and Thomas Pelletier (T. Murdoch, 'Jean, René and Thomas Pelletier, a Huguenot family of carvers and gilders in England 1682-1726 - Part I', The Burlington Magazine, November 1997, p. 738, fig. 11). In his own capacity Moore served leading members of the British aristocracy including the Duke of Chandos and the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, who appointed him Comptroller of Works at Blenheim in 1716 as successor to Sir John Vanbrugh, and became known as the notoriously difficult duchess’s ‘Oracle’ (C. Gilbert [ed.], Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, Leeds, 1986, pp. 618-9).

Moore was renowned for giltwood (and gilt-gesso) furniture and in some rare instances he signed with an incised MOORE signature. The form of these tables, with their straight, square legs terminating in carved bulbous toes indicate they were made no earlier than 1705, and no later than 1720-1725. Their bases closely relate to 'The Cadogan Gesso Table' which was probably commissioned from Moore by William Cadogan, Baron Cadogan, later 1st Earl Cadogan of Oakley (with Ronald Phillips, London). The Cadogan table shares the same form and feet as the present pair, although it has a stretcher and a gilt-gesso top rather than a Japanese lacquer top. There are several giltwood table bases and stands for cabinets in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry at Boughton House, Northamptonshire, which feature nearly identical plain square legs with similar leaf carved ball feet, although they have stretchers.

Evidently Moore also supplied panels of Japanese lacquer as a luxurious alternative to gilt-gesso tops to adorn his giltwood bases. This includes a pair of tables almost certainly commissioned from James Moore for Thomas Pelham-Holles, 4th Duke of Newcastle-Under-Lyme, and 1st Duke Of Newcastle-On-Tyne for Claremont House, Surrey, sold by Ronald Phillips, London (Ref. 4497601). The Duke of Newcastle tables share very similar lacquer tops of identical size with identical re-entrant corners and nashiji borders, as well as related lacquer scenes.

JAPANESE LACQUER IN ENGLAND
There are several examples of Japanese lacquer used in English furniture during this period which depict slight variations of the same scene on these tables: two highly raised gilt pheasants against a black ground, near a group of flowers, rocks, or other natural setting. The green pheasant is an endemic species to Japan, and is certainly the bird depicted here, although ducks, doves, and cranes are also seen in Japanese lacquer. A Japanese Export lacquer cabinet-on-stand at Petworth House and Park, West Sussex, dated c. 1685 (NT 485442.1) depicts two strikingly similar pheasants on the left door, while the right door displays the natural landscape.

Beginning in the 17th century, the English only traded directly with Japan for a very short period of time. There was a ten-year period of trade, from 1613-1623 but during this time only four English ships brought cargoes directly from London to Japan. The English withdrew from their trading post, or factory, in 1623 following the Amboyna Massacre, a result of the tense rivalry between the English East India Company and the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Throughout the remainder of the 17th century and until 1854, all trade with Japan was through the Dutch or the Chinese, making Japanese lacquer all the more expensive and difficult to obtain.