Sideboard, English, 1848-1850, with the stamp of Jordan's Carving Works, 154 Strand, carved with a frieze of vine leaves and grapes

Mahogany sideboard carved with a frieze of vine leaves and grapes supported at the back by two square section legs also carved with a similar frieze and at the front by two lion monopodia set at an angle. At the back above the table section is a large mirror framed with carving

Given by J. Duckworth-Barker

According to Mr Duckworth-Barker, in a letter written in 1967, the sideboard is reputed to have belonged to Mrs Bertha Cohen, a cousin of Lord Rothschild, who may have taken it from the house of her father, who lived at 18 Upper Wimpole Street, to 76 Upper Berkeley Street, an 18C house that was demolished in 1966. It was left by Mrs Cohen in 1917 to the parents of J. Duckworth-Barker, who took in 1918 to their house in Woking, Surrey, then Hertfordshire, then to Eastbourne, where it remained from 1931 until Mr Duckworth-Barker gave it to the V&A.

The firm of Cox and Son, carvers in wood, stone and other materials, Belvedere Road, Lambeth, London, based their steam-driven tools on Jordan's patent. The machinery, 'in its application to carving on wood, consists of a rectangular shaped table, over which is a framework, on which what are termed the cutters and "guide" are fixed vertically, these revolving with such rapidity that 7000 revolutions are effected per minute. These work within a groove, the guide being in the centre of the frame, having the pattern piece to be carved immediately underneath it, traversing it in all directions, and whilst doing so the cutters are entirely under its control, and drill away the extraneous wood down to the required line with the greatest precision. Several panels or other examples can thus be worked at the same time, one cutter being employed upon each piece of carving.' (The Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal, March 1st 1860, p. 63).

Jordan's stamp is on front leg, part 3. Machine carving brought the cost down: in 1859 it was estimated that to carve a 15- by 8-inch poppy head by hand would cost 15s 6d, but by machine only 2s 6d plus 6s for hand finishing, making a total of 8s 6d - just over half the price of hand-carving alone.

This sideboard was made at Jordan's Carving Works. Jordan’s was one of the main machine-carving firms operating in London from the mid-1840s and was particularly well known because their machines were used to carve decoration for the Palace of Westminster.

Jordan's steam-powered cutting tool rotated 3,000 times a minute, passing over the surface of a cast-iron template and also the wood (or stone) that was to be carved, drilling out the shape. Up to eight copies could be made by each machine at once. A carver then finished the surface by hand.

It is quite possible that details on this sideboard, particularly the two front console lion legs, were roughed out using this process, as similar carvings were advertised by Cox & Son, which bought Jordan's machinery in 1859.

W.7:1 to 6-1967