A giltwood pier table, supported by two pairs of caryatids. The frieze is decorated with bronze mounts: two pairs of medallions and a central floral motif. It has a black marble slab. British (London), circa 1800. Designed by Thomas Hope.

A giltwood pier table, rather severely Classical in form. The top is a black marble slab. The frieze has a moulding running along its upper edge. It is decorated with bronze mounts: four medallions, two at each end, representing gods of Night and Sleep and a central floral motif, which appears to be of inferior material and design, and may be a later addition. The back panel has been adapted to hold a mirror. The table is supported by four caryatids, two at each end directly beneath the medallions, each of which stands on an individual pedestal. These in turn rest upon two substantial blocks which form the base of the table.

Purchased with a donation from Mrs George Levy, in memory of her father, Philip Blairman

This table, from the collection of the wealthy connoisseur and patron Thomas Hope, was part of a suite furnishing the Aurora or Star Room in his London house in Duchess Street. Hope's intention in furnishing and decorating the Duchess Street house, which he acquired in 1799, was to influence and educate patrons, designers and craftsmen in the use of symbolic ornament in decoration (particularly that derived from Classical sources). To achieve this he opened the rooms on the first floor containing his collection of Classical antiquities and vases, contemporary art, and furniture, to selected members of the public from 1804.
The principal feature of the Aurora Room was John Flaxman's statue of Aurora and Cephalus, commissioned by Hope in 1790 when staying in Rome during his Grand Tour of 1787-95. Hope's scheme illustrating this theme of Night and Day, included blue, black and orange hangings, a black marble chimneypiece ornamented with owls and stars, and on the table a clock carried by Isis representing the moon, all described and illustrated in 'Household Furniture and Interior Decoration'. The black marble slab of the table, and those on the flanking side tables, corresponded with that of the chimneypiece. The caryatids, according to Hope, represent the four horae or parts of the day and the medallions on the frieze represent the gods of Night and Sleep. Hope commented that the furniture was mainly giltwood in order to contrast with the colourful scheme for the interior decoration.

It is not clear when this table left the ownership of the Hope family. It has not been identified in the catalogues of the dispersal of the Hope collections at the Deepdene in 1917. By 1927 the table belonged to the decorator, Ronald Fleming, and it was subsequently owned by Arthur Boys, who lent it to the Regency Exhibition at Brighton Pavilion in 1946, and by Philip and Celia Blairman. The Museum purchased the table from the Blairman family.

The pair of flanking side tables had winged chimeras forming the front legs. Both tables were sold in the 1917 sale of the Hope Heirlooms at the Deepdene and is now in the collection of The Huntingdon Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California.

There is a similarity between the design of the table, resting on double supports, and English sideboard tables with pairs of legs, of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. However, the uncompromising Classical severity of the form, with the caryatids on individual plinths apparently supporting a shelf, is closer to French console tables, particularly those supplied for Napoleon's palaces by the firm of Jacob-Desmalter (active 1803-25) after designs by Charles Percier (1764-1838) and P.-F.-L. Fontaine (1762-1853). One example, with very similar caryatid figures, is the table supplied by Jacob Desmalter in 1808 for Caroline Murat which is now at Versailles.

Hope's favourable reference to Percier and Fontaine's work in the introduction to 'Household Furniture and Interior Decoration' indicated his knowledge of their designs, published in outline engravings in their 'Receuil de Décorations intérieur', beginning in 1801. Hope may also have been inspired by the furniture with bronze figures supplied in 1798 for the bedroom of Mme Récamier and illustrated by J.C.-H.Krafft and N.Ransonette in Plans, coupes, élévations des plus belles maisons et des hôtels construits à Paris et dans le environs, 1801-2.

His preference for French fashions, mentioned and illustrated in his book was echoed by his need to employ French craftsmen to execute his designs, since he considered no English artisans to be sufficently skilled. Although he gives no details of the maker of the table it is quite possible that it was one of the many emigré craftsmen then resident in London.
The immediate influence of Hope's Greek Revival designs, as epitomised in this table, can be seen in George Smith's 'Collection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decoration', published in 1808, although some plates are dated 1804 and 1805. The Greek Revival as promoted and defined by Hope, became the dominant style for Regency Furniture and remained popular in a simpler for well into the mid-nineteenth century.

Object Type
The design of this table, with pairs of caryatids on plinths supporting a shelf, is typical of French console tables of 1805-1810.

Places
Thomas Hope (1769-1831) bought his house in Duchess Street, London, in 1799 to house his collection of antique and modern art. Having made substantial alterations to the house, he published Household Furniture and Interior Decoration in 1807. This book included illustrations of the house's interiors and details of individual pieces of furniture. The Aurora Room was on the first floor, and was called after the group of Aurora and Cephalus by the sculptor John Flaxman (1755-1826). It was also furnished with this table, a pair of side tables, two pedestals and four chairs.

Ownership & Use
Hope used the interiors and furnishings of his house to influence and educate patrons, designers and craftsmen about appropriate styles for interior decoration. He invited visitors to see the house, particularly the rooms on the first floor, each one of which was decorated and furnished around a particular theme. The theme of Night and Day in the Aurora Room extended even to the medallions showing the gods of Night and Sleep on the frieze of this table.

W.19:1, 2-1976