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Games table
unknown - Enlarge image
Games table
- Place of origin:
London, England (possibly, made)
- Date:
1820-1825 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Rosewood, with mounts and stringing lines of brass; silk bag is a replacement
- Museum number:
W.60-1931
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 120, case 16
Object Type
This table, in combining several functions, is typical of much Regency furniture. The top is hinged and can be raised on a ratchet for writing or drawing. Below is a compartment, lined with gilded and coloured leather, for playing backgammon. A box covered in silk hangs under the tabletop. It can be pulled out and was used for embroidery materials.
Time
Small work and games tables can be seen in several publications of the 1820s. George Smith showed alternative versions in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide of 1826 and Peter and Michael Angelo Nicholson illustrated another example in The Practical Cabinet Maker, Upholsterer and Complete Decorator of 1826.
Ownership & Use
Work and games tables used by women for reading, writing, drawing and embroidery. They were elegant, feminine pieces of furniture to be placed in drawing rooms, boudoirs or sitting rooms. This table is fitted with castors which make it easy to move around.
