Side Table
Object Type
Decorative side tables combining luxurious materials with fine carving and gilding were used to furnish the public rooms and entrance halls of grand houses. They stood against the wall, sometimes underneath a mirror, and were often flanked by chairs. If the room was large, it was usual to have a pair of tables or more, with the same base and either similar or complementary tops.
Places
The architects William Kent and Henry Flitcroft both worked at Ditchley Park for George Henry Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield, between about 1736 and 1740 . Flitcroft designed the ceilings of the drawing room and dining room, as well as chimney-pieces, internal woodwork and table frames for the house. This table was recorded in the Green Drawing Room in the 1743 and 1772 inventories. The light, feminine nature of its design suggests that the base of the table is the work of Flitcroft not Kent. Furniture designs by Kent are more solid and architectural by comparison.
Subjects Depicted
One of the small oval panels decorating the top contains a harbour scene. The ship with the red flag is that of Admiral Fitzroy Lee, Lord Lichfield's brother. The Admiral appears to have overseen the production of the scagliola top on behalf of his brother. He wrote from the Italian seaport of Livorno on 26 July 1726: 'I have seen this morning your table which is entirely finished only the arms and supporters which I writ to you of ten months ago, and you have not sent them yet, which is a great pity, for I'm sure it will be the finest of the sort in Europe!'
Decorative side tables combining luxurious materials with fine carving and gilding were used to furnish the public rooms and entrance halls of grand houses. They stood against the wall, sometimes underneath a mirror, and were often flanked by chairs. If the room was large, it was usual to have a pair of tables or more, with the same base and either similar or complementary tops.
Places
The architects William Kent and Henry Flitcroft both worked at Ditchley Park for George Henry Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield, between about 1736 and 1740 . Flitcroft designed the ceilings of the drawing room and dining room, as well as chimney-pieces, internal woodwork and table frames for the house. This table was recorded in the Green Drawing Room in the 1743 and 1772 inventories. The light, feminine nature of its design suggests that the base of the table is the work of Flitcroft not Kent. Furniture designs by Kent are more solid and architectural by comparison.
Subjects Depicted
One of the small oval panels decorating the top contains a harbour scene. The ship with the red flag is that of Admiral Fitzroy Lee, Lord Lichfield's brother. The Admiral appears to have overseen the production of the scagliola top on behalf of his brother. He wrote from the Italian seaport of Livorno on 26 July 1726: 'I have seen this morning your table which is entirely finished only the arms and supporters which I writ to you of ten months ago, and you have not sent them yet, which is a great pity, for I'm sure it will be the finest of the sort in Europe!'
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Giltwood base and scagliola top |
| Brief description | Side table from Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire. The base designed by Henry Flitcroft and made in London, 1734-1743; the table top made in Livorno, Italy, probably by Pier Antonio Paulino in 1726 |
| Physical description | Side table of carved and gilt wood with a scagliola top. The frieze has a ribbon and rosette moulding at the base and is supported at the front on winged eagle-headed terminals connected to a double central shell by swags of leaves and fruit. Similar swags connect the front legs with those at the back. These finish at the top in carved scrolls: the supports are decorated with scaling. The top is inlaid with polychrome scagliola on a black ground and in a central oval panel are the arms of George Henry Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield (argent, a fesse between three crescents sable) impaling those of his wife, Frances, daughter of Sir John Hales Bart. (gules, thtee arrows proper). On each side are escutcheons supported by grotesque female terminals and with small oval panels at each end, one inlaid with a harbour sene showing the ship of Lord Lichfield's brother, Admiral Fitzroy Lee, flying a red flag and the other a landscape. Arabesque scrolls, birds, flowers, fruit and vases rendered in natural colours complete the decoration. The base of the table has been adapted to fit the top by being shortened. A saw cut is visible on either side of the central shell and the swags on each side show signs of alteration. It therefore seems unlikely that the top was originally intended for this base. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
Henry Flitcroft, who designed the frame of this table, was nicknamed 'Burlington Harry' because he was a close associate of Lord Burlington. The table top is in scagliola, a composition material which imitated marble. Although it has the arms of the Lee family of Ditchley Park, it was not originally made for this table frame which has been cut down to fit it.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Presented by Art Fund |
| Object history | The table was sold by Sotheby's, 26 May 1933 [check lot no.] from the Dillon Collection, Ditchley. |
| Summary | Object Type Decorative side tables combining luxurious materials with fine carving and gilding were used to furnish the public rooms and entrance halls of grand houses. They stood against the wall, sometimes underneath a mirror, and were often flanked by chairs. If the room was large, it was usual to have a pair of tables or more, with the same base and either similar or complementary tops. Places The architects William Kent and Henry Flitcroft both worked at Ditchley Park for George Henry Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield, between about 1736 and 1740 . Flitcroft designed the ceilings of the drawing room and dining room, as well as chimney-pieces, internal woodwork and table frames for the house. This table was recorded in the Green Drawing Room in the 1743 and 1772 inventories. The light, feminine nature of its design suggests that the base of the table is the work of Flitcroft not Kent. Furniture designs by Kent are more solid and architectural by comparison. Subjects Depicted One of the small oval panels decorating the top contains a harbour scene. The ship with the red flag is that of Admiral Fitzroy Lee, Lord Lichfield's brother. The Admiral appears to have overseen the production of the scagliola top on behalf of his brother. He wrote from the Italian seaport of Livorno on 26 July 1726: 'I have seen this morning your table which is entirely finished only the arms and supporters which I writ to you of ten months ago, and you have not sent them yet, which is a great pity, for I'm sure it will be the finest of the sort in Europe!' |
| Bibliographic reference | Wragg, Robert Brian, 'The History of Scagliola', in 'Country Life', 10 October 1957, pp. 718-721, illus. p. 718. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.6:1, 2-1933 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
