Table
1780-1830 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Boulle marquetry, which used tortoiseshell and brass and sometimes other materials such as pewter or horn, was always cherished and valued. It was first popularised at the end of the 17th century by the French cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle, but the technique was revived again in the 18th and 19th centuries. Old boulle panels were often remounted in quite different pieces of furniture.
What seems to have happened on this table is that some boulle panels made in about 1690 for a small tripod table or a large box were remounted more than a century later. The design of the table, with projecting panels in the centre of the frieze under the top, was one that had been devised by the Parisian cabinetmaker Adam Weisweiler in the 1780s. However, on Weisweiler's tables, the projecting panels, on the front at least, formed the front panels of drawers. There are no drawers on this table and the construction underneath is quite crude. The table was probably made in the 1820s, either in Paris or in London, where there was a flourishing trade in making up pieces in French 18th-century styles.
What seems to have happened on this table is that some boulle panels made in about 1690 for a small tripod table or a large box were remounted more than a century later. The design of the table, with projecting panels in the centre of the frieze under the top, was one that had been devised by the Parisian cabinetmaker Adam Weisweiler in the 1780s. However, on Weisweiler's tables, the projecting panels, on the front at least, formed the front panels of drawers. There are no drawers on this table and the construction underneath is quite crude. The table was probably made in the 1820s, either in Paris or in London, where there was a flourishing trade in making up pieces in French 18th-century styles.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Carcase of oak, pine and walnut, veneered with African ebony, tortoiseshell and stained wood; gilt-bronze mounts |
| Brief description | Boulle table, French, early 19th century in Louis XIV style |
| Physical description | A rectangular table of oak and pine, veneered with boulle marquetry of tortoiseshell, brass and stained woods, with gilt-bronze mounts. The table is raise on four tapering, octagonal legs, joined at low level by and X stretcher. The apron of the table is set with gilt-bronze mounts of upright leaf against a ground of ebony, the centre of all sides set with deeper panels veneered with boulle marquetry, which stand proud of the main frieze of the table and extend below it. The top of the table is edged with gilt-bonze and the top surface is set with three boulle panels showing symmetrical scrolls, terms and squirrels, these panels probably originally made wither for a small tripod table or for a large box in about 1690-1710. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Bequeathed by John Jones |
| Object history | Part of the Jones Bequest. |
| Production | Made ca. 1780-1830, using three panels of marquetry made in Paris ca. 1690, originally from a small tripod table or from a large box. The form of the table is one first developed by Adam Weisweiler. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Boulle marquetry, which used tortoiseshell and brass and sometimes other materials such as pewter or horn, was always cherished and valued. It was first popularised at the end of the 17th century by the French cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle, but the technique was revived again in the 18th and 19th centuries. Old boulle panels were often remounted in quite different pieces of furniture. What seems to have happened on this table is that some boulle panels made in about 1690 for a small tripod table or a large box were remounted more than a century later. The design of the table, with projecting panels in the centre of the frieze under the top, was one that had been devised by the Parisian cabinetmaker Adam Weisweiler in the 1780s. However, on Weisweiler's tables, the projecting panels, on the front at least, formed the front panels of drawers. There are no drawers on this table and the construction underneath is quite crude. The table was probably made in the 1820s, either in Paris or in London, where there was a flourishing trade in making up pieces in French 18th-century styles. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1027-1882 |
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| Record created | March 14, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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