Marquetry table

This table was made for the lost Circular Dressing Room at Harewood House. In early designs the room changed its function several times, but by 1769 it had become a dressing room, called simply the ‘Circular Room' in the 1795 inventory. The bill for the table does not survive, but the Harewood Day Work Book records the fitting out and finishing of the room in the summer of 1772, which is probably when this table was installed. It was placed against the north wall, opposite the fireplace and beneath the three-part mirror, termed a ‘Venetian glass' in the inventory. In 1798 a visitor described the table standing beneath this glass, ‘…so placed that each single object reflects three distinct representations'. The table's profiled back corners fitted snugly between the paired Ionic pilasters which divided the room's eight bays.Robert Adam produced several alternative schemes for the room between 1767 and 1769, and although it is not known which was eventually chosen, the lively colouring of the table frame and its polychrome marquetry suggest that the most colourful version was the one actually realised. While it is conceivable that Adam also designed this table, its form and composition, particularly of the marquetry, are typical of Chippendale's mature neo-classical style. He evidently intended the table to complement Robert Adam's lively scheme; the three-section plan of the table top corresponded to the three sections of the mirror above, and the table's looping bellflower and acanthus frieze echoed the alternating anthemion and plume motifs in the frieze of the room. The spiral fluting of the drum feet matched similar fluting in the bases of the paired pilasters. The brightly coloured table frame and the spectacular polychrome marquetry responded to the predominantly white, pink and blue decoration of the walls and ceiling. Empty screw holes and residual paint on the underside of the frieze indicate that it was originally hung with a series of pendant swags, now lost. Some time later, probably in the early 19th century, the frame was repainted with a dark simulated rosewood finish. When Harewood was remodelled by Sir Charles Barry in the 1840s the Circular Room was swept away. The curved shape of the table must have proved difficult to accommodate elsewhere, for it is reputed to have ended up in the Harewood joiner's shop, used as a workbench. In 1976 the table was sent to auction at Christie's and was acquired by the Chippendale Society later the same year. The 19th century painted rosewood finish on the frame was removed to reveal the original painted surface while the damaged marquetry top was restored by David Hawkins between 1976 and 1979. By 2016 the restored top was again showing signs of distress, so Hawkins' rather thick dark varnish was removed and remedial work undertaken. At the same time a UV-vis spectroscopy analysis was done to determine, where possible, the original colours of the faded veneers. The analysis was carried out by Dr. Heinrich Peining of the Bayerische Schlosserverwaltung, Munich. At the same time, some sections of veneer were lifted for microscopic wood identification and to determine the techniques used to create the marquetry. The information gained informed the making of a digital reconstruction of its original appearance.

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