Table
ca. 1815 (designed and made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
George Bullock trained as a modeller and sculptor in Liverpool before moving to London in 1812. He established the Mona Marble and Furniture Works in Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, and had several important commissions, including supplying furniture for the use of the exiled Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte on St. Helena. Bullock preferred to use native woods, such as oak or larch, for his furniture, with Mona marble slabs from the quarry he purchased on Anglesey. The combination of ebony and brass inlay is unusual for Bullock and suggests the influence of French Empire furniture. Instead of Mona marble, this top is made of specimens of classical Roman marbles which must have been imported. However the brass pattern of hops on the base of the table shows Bullock's characteristic use of British motifs in his inlay, rather than the conventional classical vine motif.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Ebony veneer, on a carcase of oak, with brass inlay; slab of marble |
| Brief description | Table, ebony veneer on oak carcase, with brass inlay and marble top; made by George Bullock, London, ca. 1815. |
| Physical description | Table, ebony veneer on a carcase of oak. The circular marble top has a radiating pattern of specimen marbles. The pedestal is decorated in brass with oak leaves and acorns, and the thyrsus on the base is entwined with hops. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | TABLE
ENGLISH; about 1815
Veneered with ebony and brass; the top composed of fragments of ancient classical marble and hard-stone.
The frame is thought to have been made by George Bullock (d1818), Hanover Square, London, to support the Italian marble slab.
George Bullock, one of the principal early 19th century cabinetmakers, supplied furniture to Walter Scott and the Duke of Atholl. He pioneered the return to native British plant ornament and although the brass inlay is based upon Classical Roman prototypes, the pedestal is decorated with oak leaves and acorns, and the thyrsus on the base is entwined with hops rather than grape vines.(pre October 2000) |
| Object history | Another table of the same design with a top formed of specimen marbles was sold Christie's London, A Town House in Mayfair, 20th November 2008, lot 540. The existence of two such similar tables suggests that part of Bullock's trade included the provision of bases for circular tops acquired by Grand Tour collectors. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | George Bullock trained as a modeller and sculptor in Liverpool before moving to London in 1812. He established the Mona Marble and Furniture Works in Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, and had several important commissions, including supplying furniture for the use of the exiled Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte on St. Helena. Bullock preferred to use native woods, such as oak or larch, for his furniture, with Mona marble slabs from the quarry he purchased on Anglesey. The combination of ebony and brass inlay is unusual for Bullock and suggests the influence of French Empire furniture. Instead of Mona marble, this top is made of specimens of classical Roman marbles which must have been imported. However the brass pattern of hops on the base of the table shows Bullock's characteristic use of British motifs in his inlay, rather than the conventional classical vine motif. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.34:1, 2-1978 |
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| Record created | April 2, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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