Pier table
Unknown Artist
This table (one of a pair with F514) was almost certainly made in Rome, and were probably the product of a workshop specialising in furniture for wealthy foreign gentlemen on the Grand Tour. They were bought in 1774 in Rome by one such English aristocrat, the 1st Marquess of Buckingham, who had them sent back to England. Decorated with ox skulls (bucrania) and classical reliefs they are self-consciously neo-classical, and would have appealed to contemporary taste at a time when architects like Robert Adam were transforming the English country house in the ‘antique’ style. The verde antico veneer was probably obtained from excavations of Ancient Roman sites.
c. 1770
Stone, verde antico marble veneers, pinewood, gilt pinewood, gilt bronze, alabaster panels and steel brackets
99.0 x 177.0cm
F515
Images and text © Wallace Collection, 2017
Where you'll find this
The Wallace Collection
Permanent collection