A night table or bedside cupboard veneered in kingwood and other woods on a carcase of softwood, the body set with marquetry of large trellis patterns, the top additionally (and later) set with a porcelain plaque of Sèvres porcelain or a British imitation, showing painting of flowers in polychrome, in reserve against a green ground.

A night table or bedside cupboard veneered in kingwood and other woods on a carcase of softwood, the body set with marquetry of large trellis patterns, the top additionally (and later) set with a porcelain plaque of Sèvres porcelain or a British imitation, showing painting of flowers in polychrome, in reserve against a green ground.
The table is of severely rectangular form, the legs square-sectioned and tapering, with an outset collar abobe the feet which are rised on square, gilt-brass mounts with out-curving lower edges. The legs are veneered on all side with panels of a wood with strong contrast between heartwood and sapwood (similar to cocus wood (Brya ebenus) or lignum vitae, but not identified by microscopic analysis), outlined with dark and light stringing. At the top the legs are finished with gilt-brass collars of ovolo outline. Thid decoration continues on the uprights of the cupboard section. The sides show broad framings of kingwood set diagonally, surrounding a panel of paler wood, possibly satinwood, with a design of two interlaced rectangles, all outlined, as the panel is, with five strings of ebony and maple, including one stained green. The front shows a single compartment with a tambour front (kingwood and sycamore stripes). Above this is a shallow drawer running the full width of the piece, with a central panel of satinwood edged with ebony and box stringing and the diagonally set cross-banding of kingwood. The top shows a trellis design of ebony/box stringing on a ground of maple or satinwood with a framing of smaller trellis enclosing flower heads. The centre of the main trellis is inset with a plain, rounded-section gilt-brass frames enclosing a plaque of porcelain from Sèvres (or an imitation of Sèvres). This is painted with flowers in polychrome on a reseve within a green ground. The top of the table is outlined with a plain, gilt-brass framing that rises just above the top, forming a lip. The back of the piece shows a panel of large trellis similar to the top but with a border of diagonally set kingwood. The table is pierced with holes on the sides for handles, now replaced by roundels of gilt brass.

When this night table was acquired by the Museum in 1877 it was thought to be French but the table is almost certainly Italian, with the porcelain plaque added to make it look like a French piece. The use of a plaque on the top is impractical. It was not until 1882, with the bequest of John Jones, that the Museum acquired significant collections of French furniture and developed greater expertise in this subject. The very sharp-edged, rectilinear form of this table is typical of pieces made in Italy between 1780 and 1800. The striped colouring of the tambour front reflects the popularity of striped designs for textiles of the period. Before the woods lost colour as a result of light and aging, the effect may have been much closer to textiles, with strong contrast between the colours (perhaps pink and white), now faded to a general golden colour.

MIcroscopic examination is needed to identify the woods used for veneers with certainty. The plaque should be examined by a ceramics expert to determine whether the plaque is Sèvres or an imitation. British factories such as Minton and Copeland produced many copies in the 19th century and original, unfinished plaques from Sèvres were also decorated and re-used.

See Registered File 68/68630, when the table was lent to Leighton House, London.

In 1877, when this table was purchased by the Museum, there was very little French furniture in the collections. Not until 1882, when the Museum received a very large and generous bequest of French decorative arts from John Jones, were there large numbers of French pieces of furniture which could allow the Museum staff to develop their understanding of what was genuine and what was not. The huge development of the trade in antique furniture in the 19th century led to both faking and copying. Italian furniture of the 18th century was not yet widely collected in Britain, whereas French furniture was quickly becoming very popularwith collectors. Altering a piece to suggest that it was French was very lucrative. Whether the person who did this knew that the night table was Italian is not known. The maker may have thought genuinely that the table was French, but could be made more decorative and saleable by adding the porcelain plaque.

777-1877