Table thumbnail 1
Table thumbnail 2
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Not currently on display at the V&A

Table

ca. 1775 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Pembroke tables (with two flaps supported on brackets) are first recorded in bills and inventories in the mid-18th century. They were used for light meals and sometimes also known as 'breakfast tables'. This table is decorated using a technique known in Britain as 'japanning', in which layers of colour and varnish were painted onto a wooden substrate to imitate the effect of Asian lacquer.


Object details

Category
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Key
  • Drawer
  • Table
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Pembroke table, English, ca. 1775, japanned decoration on a softwood carcase.
Physical description
The top has two flaps supported on each side by a pair of shaped brackets. It is decorated with landscapes, buildings, and figures in slight relief, gold on a black ground, surrounded by a border of foliage sprays and repeating ornament. Below is a drawer with the front decorated in the same style and fitted with brass knobs. The table rests on square tapered legs decorated with floral sprays and fitted with brass wheel castors.
Dimensions
  • Height: 71.3cm
  • Width: 81.6cm
  • Depth: 55.7cm
Object history
Museum negative 74591 shows this on display in Gallery 40 in 1936 as part of a display of Georgian furniture.
Summary
Pembroke tables (with two flaps supported on brackets) are first recorded in bills and inventories in the mid-18th century. They were used for light meals and sometimes also known as 'breakfast tables'. This table is decorated using a technique known in Britain as 'japanning', in which layers of colour and varnish were painted onto a wooden substrate to imitate the effect of Asian lacquer.
Collection
Accession number
W.13:3-1932

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Record createdJuly 6, 2006
Record URL
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