Not currently on display at the V&A

Table

1820-1830 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This table is very similar to one in the Royal Collection, part of the group of furniture and furnishings originally supplied between 1827 and 1829 to King George IV for Windsor Castle by the partnership of Morel and Seddon. Nicholas Morel was responsible for the design, and the furniture was made by the firm of George Seddon, whose family had well established workshops. The King's table was one of a set of six made in oak for the Grand Corridor at Windsor.

The table in the Royal Collection has the same shaped legs and scroll plinths as the Museum's table although the rectangular top is covered with leather rather than inlaid. Also part of the Windsor commission are other tables with inlay of pewter, mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell by Morel and Seddon. This suggests that the Museum's table may also have been made by that firm but we do not know if it was made for King George IV.

Tables of this type, sometimes called occasional or sofa tables in the 1820s, were useful pieces for rooms. The castors under the feet meant they could be easily moved in front of chairs or sofas when needed for writing or reading.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Table, possibly designed and made by Morel and Seddon, British, 1820-1830.
Physical description
Burr walnut and burr maple veneer with inlay of rosewood, mother of pearl, pewter and tortoiseshell, on an oak carcase
Dimensions
  • Height: 205cm (Note: approx)
  • Depth: 58cm
  • Width: 127cm
Gallery label
OCCASIONAL TABLE ENGLISH; about 1830 Burr walnut and burr maple veneers with Boulle-work border of pewter, mother-of-pearl and red tortoiseshell; gilt mouldings.(pre October 2000)
Object history
This table may have been designed by Nicolas Morel and made by the firm of Seddon & Sons. Morel and George Seddon formed a partnership for the commission to furnish the new interiors at Windsor Castle created for King George IV. Morel and Seddon supplied a set of six oak sofa tables with leather tops for the Grand Corridor in Windsor Castle between 1827 and 1829. Four of these tables survive in the Royal Collection and they are very similar, particularly in the design of the legs, to the example in the Museum (Hugh Roberts, For The King's Pleasure The Furnishing and Decoration of George IV's Apartments at Windsor Castle, 2001, fig 309).

The border of pewter and mother-of-pearl on a red tortoiseshell ground is also similar to marquetry borders on other tables supplied by Morel and Seddon for Windsor (Roberts, op.cit., fig. 96).
Summary
This table is very similar to one in the Royal Collection, part of the group of furniture and furnishings originally supplied between 1827 and 1829 to King George IV for Windsor Castle by the partnership of Morel and Seddon. Nicholas Morel was responsible for the design, and the furniture was made by the firm of George Seddon, whose family had well established workshops. The King's table was one of a set of six made in oak for the Grand Corridor at Windsor.

The table in the Royal Collection has the same shaped legs and scroll plinths as the Museum's table although the rectangular top is covered with leather rather than inlaid. Also part of the Windsor commission are other tables with inlay of pewter, mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell by Morel and Seddon. This suggests that the Museum's table may also have been made by that firm but we do not know if it was made for King George IV.

Tables of this type, sometimes called occasional or sofa tables in the 1820s, were useful pieces for rooms. The castors under the feet meant they could be easily moved in front of chairs or sofas when needed for writing or reading.
Collection
Accession number
W.19-1962

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Record createdJanuary 26, 2001
Record URL
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