A GEORGE II MAHOGANY WRITING TABLE

The table has acquired an outstanding colour and patination and retains the original ornate swan-neck handles to the drawers, and the original gold tooled dark brown leather insert. The side handles are of later date. Related drawings for writing tables can be found in Chippendale’s third edition of his highly influential drawing book and in a similar publication by the Society of Upholsterers and Cabinet-makers, the latter printed and retailed by the bookseller Robert Sayer. This book, together with the fact that Sayer retailed the first edition of Chippendale’s publication, but not the second and third editions, may suggest some rivalry between the two men.

Literature: Thomas Chippendale, The Gentleman and Cabinet-maker’s Director, 3rd edition, 1762, pl. LXXII.
Society of Upholsterers and Cabinet-makers, Genteel Household Furniture In the Present Taste, 1762, pl. 62.