Antique Mahogany Tripod Table - Tripod Tea Table - Regency Rosewood Library  Table

The principle role of tripod tables has been as wine or occasional tables for social use. As a piece of furniture a tripod table of small size is decorative and useful in this respect but easilyknocked over and liable to damage. Many of the tripod tables for sale in shops nowadays are marriages of top and base from different origins for this reason. The tripod legs, keyed into the central column, are also easily damaged and the joint split due to an excessive weight being placed on the table. A metal spider is often screwed under the base to reinforce the legs against this.
The original method of securing the top was by two parallel bearers hinged to fit on to the squared top of the stem. Sometimes a gallery or ‘bird cage’ was used and this, being regarded as a mark of quality, tends to
add to price. By placing a weight too near the edge of the table it is possible to damage the top fixingalso and many of these have had to be repaired.
To detect a ‘marriage’ examine the underside of the top for old screw holes or marks of previous bearers. Although successful unions do take place there is usually a loss of proportion and relationship between top and base. Do not be misled, in country versions, by talk of country craftsmen using one wood for the top, another for the stem and another for the legs. Although this may have happened it was not nearly so widespread as the subsequent repairers would have us think.
Value in tripod tables is dictated by the same considerations as those of other furniture; quality of craftsmanship, proportion, colour and choice of wood, polish and patination. Above all , originality is to be prized as much as structural condition.
Regency rosewood library or rent table with octagonal revolving top inset with tooled leather. The inlaid stringing lines are of brass.
Large Regency period dining table of extendable type with leaves which are inserted in the centre section to provide greater seating capacity. A type of table now somewhat reserved for board rooms and public
banqueting halls but which nevertheless follows the development of the earlier Georgian type with two ‘D’ ends between which leaves could be inserted. This table would seat approximately 20 people.
N. B. It is interesting to note that ten years ago such tables were hard to sell and often cut up for the good quality wood of which they were made.
The tripod table is not strictly speaking derived from the candle stand in our illustration above but it is possible to trace the influences derived from it. This stand is of walnut and was made originally for holding a light.
The octagonal top has a moulding round it which is typical of the late 17th and early 18th century walnut period and the twist turned stem represents a high degree of technical accomplishment.
A mahogany tripod of mid-18th century. The top is dished to give the rim around it and the plain column is of pleasing simplicity. The mahogany used is of the heavy Cuban variety, very dark in colour. Note the
development of the height of the legs, becoming bolder.
A mahogany tripod supper-table of c. 1750. The scalloped top is decorated in the centre with leaf carving. This illustration is in fact a reproduction and the centre column turning is not perhaps of as beautiful a design as the top should be supported on.
A walnut stand of the early 18th century. The octagonal top again has the moulded edge of the period and is veneered in figured walnut. The base of the stand is now lifted off the floor by the three curved feet of square section.
A tripod mahogany tea table of c. 1760 with fluted column and scalloped edge carved with shell patterns.
A Chippendale style mahogany tripod table. The top shows the .’pie-crust’ edging which requires a high degree of craftsmanship, since the whole top is made in one piece. The stem is fluted down to the carved bulbous vase and the legs, with shell and pendant decoration on the knee, end in ball and claw feet. Note the scroll on the inside of the knee of the leg. One of the most ornate and decorated examples of this type.
Typical 18th century tripod table in mahogany, probably dating from 1760-80. The legs have now become almost aggressively higher and bolder in curve. The tapering column has the bulbous vase at the base.
Late 18th century tripod table with baluster turned stem and chamfered legs.
Fruitwood tripod table 27″ in diameter. Note the rather abbreviated feet and the.fact that it has been necessary to use several planks to make the top due to the lack of width in fruit-wood trees.
Another tripod mahogany table of 1770-90 date with similar stem, but the legs now flattening in curve slightly. The rounded curves are modified by the chamfered edges and more pointed design.
18th century tripod mahogany table of larger dimensions - the top approx. 2ft. 9in. in diameter. Note the spirally fluted vase at the base of the tapering column stem. Until recently these were more difficult to sell, being too large for occasional or wine table use. Now they are rising in price and being used as tea tables or small dining tables.
18th century yew wood tripod table. The legs are better proportioned than the fruitwood example although they show the steep outer curve of the later period. The top again is several planks, but yew is a wood which
is always more highly valued.
Early 19th century tripod table with rectangular top, of a type expanded in size to produce a breakfast table. This smaller size could be used as a supper table and, being of the tip-up type, was useful in smaller rooms.
The wood is generally mahogany and the legs and stem exhibit the same characteristics as dining tables of the period.
A rather delicate tripod table of c. 1800. The top is octagonal and painted - in line with other furniture of the Sheraton period. Note that the legs are now in a reverse curve from previous styles.
Later 19th century version of the tripod table - the tripod legs have actually vanished and all that remains is the triangular shaped flat base with its three turned feet. The stem is now thoroughly over-
turned with far too many bulbs and vases. Early 19th century country tripod table in mahogany. The legs are in the same reverse type of curve as the previous example, but the stem shows the rather bulbous turning
that heralds the Victorian period.

TABLES  dressing
The most successful form of dressing table seems to have been one with drawers in pedestals on either side. Indeed, the walnut reproduction desk shown in the Desk Section (No. 326) is, in fact, a copy of a kneehole
dressing table of c.1700 (but see the Price Guide to Antique Furniture for all about that). The simpler the design, very often, the more successful it was. Apart from the pedestal type  which has been much converted
into desks  the , lowboy’, with its two deep drawers and one central shallow one, on cabriole legs, is the very other popular form.
The advent of built-in bedroom units has meant the demise of many large pedestal dressing tables but the smaller, prettier ones have survived as whimsical occasional tables, even in the bedroom. These smaller tables tend to be the more highly valued.
A dressing table of a type made by Holland & Co. in satin ash with ebony stringing lines and brass gallery rails above the upper drawers. Perhaps made en suite with the ‘Wellington’ chest 303. A high-quality piece of
furniture in a simple pleasing style. 1850-1880
A dressing table designed by Owen Jones for Eynsham Hall, Oxon, in 1873. In fact, Shoolbred’s catalogue of 1876 shows examples very similar in design. This piece is in a pleasant, light wood and the stringing lines and neat black knobs contribute to an easy formality of design which is wholly missing from much furniture of the period. Unfortunately many dressing tables of this sort have had the top section removed to cater for the enormous trade in pedestal desks. 1870-1880
A rather more ‘Victorian’ mahogany version of the preceding examples, with scrolled carved supports to the shaped mirror. The pedestals are bow-fronted and the descent from simple clean lines to something less
tasteful is clearly illustrated. 1850-1880
Down further we go, into semi-rococo ugliness. The oval mirror is all right but the rest is fairly unpleasant and extremely wasteful of space. Apart from the central drawer the frieze is totally unused and probably ‘false’ while as for the legs and bottom shelf … !
An oak dressing table and mirror to match with revealed construction in the manner approved by the Gothic reformers. The arcaded painted decoration is in keeping.
A painted dressing table which has borrowed something from the art furniture brigade in its design and perhaps something from Regency ‘bamboo’.
An inlaid mahogany dressing table in the Sheraton manner, owing something to the Carlton House writing table in the curving design of the centre section which leads, in the upper storey, to two drawers. The inlays
incorporate shell and swag motifs.
An inlaid mahogany kidney-shaped dressing table in the `Sheraton’ manner, depending on a late 18th or early 19th century original design but somewhat over-decorated by the Edwardians. c.1900
A walnut ‘Queen Anne’ dressing table of a type known as a lowboy. One of the most popular and pretty pieces from the walnut period of 1710-1730 and much reproduced. See the Price Guide to Antique Furniture for several original examples. c.1925
A Liberty’s dressing table in the ‘art nouveau’ style in its more straight-line English variety. Usually made en suite with an accompanying washstand (see 608). C. 1900
A mahogany dressing table of ,art nouveau’ design with inlaid decoration and square tapering legs ending in round feet. C. 1900
Another walnut dressing table of `Queen Anne’ style but which is immediately apparent as a reproduction version, not true to original proportions, from the long cabriole legs. The previous example is much more true to the original.
A ‘William and Mary’ style dressing table, so termed because of the inverted-cup turning, bun feet and shaped stretcher of the base. Not the correct proportions for a period piece. c. 1925
One of Maurice Adams ‘original’ designs, successful commercially in the 1920s and 1930s, based on ‘Queen Anne’ styles. This example is in figured walnut but mahogany versions were also available. An entirely
post-1920 interpretation of Queen Anne and quite identifiably 20th century. c.1925
A veneered walnut dressing table, with wardrobe-chest to match, on cabriole legs with shell carving to the knees. Anyone seeking to comprehend why 20th century burr walnut furniture is so far in appearance from the early 18th century pieces it vaguely emulates should look at the sheer fussiness of the figure in these veneers and the confusion it generates even when laid in matched symmetrical sheets. 1920-1940
Lacquered versions of ‘Queen Anne’ (right) and ‘William and Mary’ (left) dressing tables. There was a revival in lacquer furniture (often on a blue ground, but also red and black) in the 1920s which now has a market in
the interior decoration business.
A walnut veneered dressing table and wardrobe with drawer above. Very much post-1918 in design, with solid pedestal bases emphasised by dark applied mouldings, no separate feet, square unembellished edges and solid square ebonised wooden handles. The central drawer of the dressing table has been replaced by a glass shelf. Quite what the drawer above the wardrobe was used for is not certain  Something the Children Must Not Find, perhaps 1920-1940

Sofa table

Sofa tables belong to the last decade of the eighteenth century and the first two of the nineteenth, after which they became ‘occasional tables’ without a specific function. They were originally designed for writing or playing games while people sat on a sofa, and as such were usually at least 5 ft long, sometimes as much as 6 ft, and no more than 2 ft 6 in high and 22-24 in wide.
Bearing in mind their function, it is obvious that the extra flaps are extensions of length rather than width, since a flap on the sofa side of the table would make it very uncomfortable for anyone to sit at. In order to give as much legroom as possible, they were of cheval construction, with two end bearers, rather in the manner of the old X-frame trestle table, solidly made and correctly balanced so that they did not sway from side to side. In some, a central stretcher helped stability.
By c.1810, sofa tables were made on the central pillar-and-claw design, usually more ornate, and often with brass stringing inset as decoration on legs and plinth as  well as on drawers and surfaces.
Early sofa tables had fairly deep drawers on one full length and matching dummy drawer on each side. Often, drawers were fitted with compartments for games and writing materials. In the later period, c.1820, drawers became shallower as sofa tables began to lose their identity and became merely decorative.
Early versions were not very robust, being intended only for genteel use, and it is uncommon to find one without any repair or restoration.
Signs of authenticity
1. Thick, fine veneers on close-grained red pine or Honduras mahogany.
2. Drawers oak-lined, not pine.
3. Undersides of flap plain veneered – visible when not raised.
4. If with locks, steel levers to brass locks and lock casings –brass levers are post-1840.
5. Two fly brackets to each flap.
6. Three ‘knuckles’ or hinges to each bracket.
7. Underframe frieze inset to take width of closed brackets, allowing flaps to fall flush with cheval supports.
8. Sham drawers on either side to real drawers.
9. Grain running across width, not down length of table.
10. No escutcheons to locks (if fitted) but simple rim escutcheons with rounded bottoms. Squared bottoms to rim escutcheons are post-1840.
11. Cross-cut veneer to edge of tables.
12. Often, cast brass, turned, circular, flat knobs to drawers or lion’s masks with rings.
Likely restoration and repair
13. Cheval supports broken, replaced with central pillar support taken from damaged piece of same period.
14. Cheaper cheval supports taken from mass-produced sofa tables of same period, usually not as long, added to a high quality top. Marks of original bearers, screw-holes, chevals set in too close.
15. Made-up cheval supports from Victorian cheval mirrors. Holes where mirror pivoted, usually in square block in cheval, concealed by a rosette or other decoration, where it has been plugged and stained.
16. If both drawers are on the same side, indicates a recent addition.
17. Veneered in pinkish-coloured birch. Cheap Victorian substitute for satinwood, with wavy grain instead of straight or figured.
18. Grain running length of table suggests new top with suitable inlay made up from larger piece of period furniture.
Sofa tables were made with two different constructions: the cheval and the central pillar support. The cheval type had solid supports dividing into two splayed legs, and was made with or without stretchers. The central pillar-supports often incorporated a half-circle resting on a central plinth with up-curving flattened splayed legs, frequently terminating in lion’s paw feet or square box castors with horizontal fittings.
They were made in a wide variety of woods and veneers: rosewood, mahogany and ‘black’ walnut. There were two drawers, side by side in the width of the table, one sham the other real.
The correct proportions are quite large: 5-6 ft long with the flaps extended, 22-24 in wide and approximately 2 ft 6 in in height. The overall shape is definitely long, lean and sleek, with minimal overhang on either side. When the flaps are down they fall flush with the side supports. The legs splay out in a flattened curve so that they can be pulled close to the sofa, with the legs sliding a little way beneath.
Variations
Sofas were not part of the furnishings of smaller agricultural homes until the age of sprung furniture some time after c.1830. Country versions of the card table fulfilled the same function as a sofa table for writing and playing games. Contemporary, cheaper versions were made, in machine-cut woods, mass-produced with thin veneer and poor quality materials, usually shorter in length than high-quality versions.
Legs of chevals in provincial sofa tables tend to be heavy, or
Detail
Early sofa tables resemble writing furniture more than ornamental pieces, and share their smooth, plain surfaces rather than the more elaborate inlays which might lift and catch on soft fabrics of sleeves and cuffs. Simple decoration, such as cross-banded borders, continued on to the flaps, and some fine examples have fly brackets set at the edge of the frieze so that, when opened, the design carries on from the frieze to the ends of the brackets.
From c.1810 they are found in many veneers, including satinwood, light Cuban mahogany, laburnum, zebrawood, amboyna and rosewood. Between 1810 and 1820 brass inlay was very popular, and from c.1815 the fashionable design of the lyre was incorporated, and lyre-ended tables were made with brass rods to simulate harp strings.
machine-cut with decoration on outer ,surface of chevals only, strengthened with stretchers. Legs would often be chamfered to join the upright, then screwed, glued and clamped before being veneered over the joint to look as though they are correctly made.
The basic idea of a narrow all-purpose drawing table has been used in many variations since sofa tables were first designed by Thomas Sheraton and his contemporaries.
Reproductions
The period of the sofa table’s popularity comes within the age of mass-manufactured furniture. These tables were more often made in cheaper materials, and of meaner proportions for provincial homes, rather than as country pieces. After c.1850 many unattractive versions of long occasional tables were made all over the country, many of them with side-flaps rather than end flaps. Taller versions were used in libraries behind high-backed Victorian and Edwardian settees and sofas for trays of drinks, etc.
In the 1950s a proliferation of copies of the lyre-ended design flooded the market, but since they went out of fashion they have not been seen around in very large numbers.
Price bands
Top-quality Regency, without stretcher, mahogany,
£7,000 + .
Finely veneered satinwood, c.1810, £4,500 5,500.
Central support, fine quality, c.1810, £3,500-4,500.
Rosewood or walnut, fine quality, with stretcher, c.1830, 12,000 3,000.
Poorer quality veneered, £600-900.
Left: turned stretcher and cheval legs have probably been added. Centre: superb early Regency Thomas Hope design.
Below right: fine, early nineteenth-century, on central support with inlaid brass decoration.

Late XVIII Century Tables

18th Century tables, although not described as such in Chippendale’s Director, were a new type of table. During the first half of the 18th century, people tended to sit at small tables to eat, arranged in groups in a dedicated eating room.
Around the 1750s, people began to eat at longer tables. Quite often, these consisted of a central, rectangular gateleg table to which two D-ends were joined to make one long piece. When not assembled as such, the D-ends might be used as pier tables.
For the most part, these dining tables were plain, with either square or tapering legs. This began to change from around 1780, when tables were often supported by pedestals.
Early examples of dining tables, such as those supplied by Chippendale in 1770, had half-round ends and deep, rectangular drop leaves. These were supported, when raised, on gate legs and secured using stirrup clips.
Table legs were influenced by Neoclassical style and became more slender and tapering in shape as the century progressed.
As the passion for games and gambling now pervaded every level of society, large numbers of games tables
were made, particularly in England and the American colonies, and these gained popularity in Europe towards the end of the century.
Many games tables had a top that folded back to reveal a baize-lined surface or an inlaid games board, and one or two legs that swung back to support the open top. When not in use, the table would usually be stored
against the wall, so the side facing the wall was generally left undecorated.
Pembroke tables were multi-purpose, and could be used for dining, games, or as worktables, depending on the occasion. Being small and on casters, they could be moved around a room as required.
Like other occasional tables, Pembroke tables were usually highly decorative. Those made of satinwood or mahogany were often inlaid with Neoclassical designs, although painted decoration was also popular.
Marquetry remained fashionable throughout the period.
Dressing tables were often designed like deep tables with drawers. These usually featured ingenious mechanical fittings such as dressing mirrors that rose and fell in slots.
The escutcheons and handles are made of brass.
Carved acanthus adorns the knees of the table.
ENGLISH GAMES TABLE
Made from mahogany, this games table has a rectangular top that folds back to reveal a baize-lined playing surface. The concave corners hold counters.
c.1760.
The protruding, square corners are also functional, as their concave insides hold counters.
Metal hinges hold the two top sections together.
The rear legs do not have claw-and-ball feet. as the table was not designed to be seen from all sides.
ENGLISH CARD TABLE
This mahogany, D-shaped card table has a fold-over top and baize-lined interior. It is veneered with satinwood banding, with ebony and boxwood string inlay. c.1785.
ENGLISH PEMBROKE TABLE
This small mahogany table is intricately inlaid with various woods, including harewood, a veneer from the sycamore tree that is stained to produce a brown-green colour similar to khaki. c.1780.
SCANDINAVIAN TABLES
ade of satin birchwood, each table has a demi-lune top placed at an angle on a frae above three square-section, tapered legs. The D-shape or demi lunge is often associated with card tables that were designed to be placed
against a wall when not in use. However, these tables are more likely to have been used as side tables because they are too tall to sit at. c.1790. W87cm(34%in). L&T 3
SWEDISH PIER TABLE
This table is made of painted and gilded softwood, with a faux-marble top and plinth. Gilt balls top each turned, tapered leg, below which are carved and gilded acanthus leaves and gilt supports.
FRENCH TABLE
Made of mahogany, this rectangular table has a single frieze drawer. The square, tapering legs have brass terminals and casters, which allowed the occasional table to be moved easily. c.1785.
ENGLISH FOLD-OVER TEA TABLE
This mahogany tea table is made in the French Hepplewhite style. The serpentine top has a moulded edge and rests on a serpentine frieze, which is raised on cabriole legs. The legs are carved at the top of the knees
with stylized anthemia. c.1770.
ITALIAN PIER TABLE
This imposing table has a rectangular faux-marble top. The frame is painted and decorated with applied gilt scrolls and rosettes. The circular, tapered legs are also painted. Gilding is applied to the concave sections of
the stop-fluted legs. c. 1780.
ENGLISH DRUM TABLE
This table has an inset-leather surface, four frieze drawers, one of which is fitted with an adjustable writing slope, and four dummy drawers. The table revolves on a turned central column, which is set above four inlaid sabre legs with brass lion’s paw casters. c.1800.
DUTCH OCCASIONAL TABLE
The top of this demilune-shaped piece is decorated with an inlaid urn surrounded by crossbanding. Tambour doors slide sideways to open. It stands on three square-section, tapering legs decorated with boxwood and ebony stringing. c.1790.
FRENCH DROP-LEAF DINING TABLE
This Cuban mahogany table has a rounded, rectangular top with two D-shaped leaves. It has a plain frieze and six squared, tapered legs with brass caps and casters. The legs move out to support the open leaves and
additional leaves. Signed Jean-Antoine Brunel. c.1795.
SWEDISH CARD TABLE
This demi-lune-shaped table has a frieze and squared legs. It is very similar to an English card table, apart from the two legs, which are awkwardly bunched together. One of them swings back to support the top when opened. c.1780.
ENGLISH OVAL TABLE
This is one of a pair of French-style tables decorated with marquetry and parquetry. The oval top has a central panel with an inlaid spray of flowers and ribbons and the frieze has a floral inlay. The table has capriole legs. c.1785.
ENGLISH PIER TABLE
The top of this demi-line table is inlaid with satinwood, rosewood, ebony, and boxwood. The marquetry features a fan, echoing the shape of the table. Inlaid paterae are inserted at the tops of the square, tapering legs, which terminate in spade feet. c.1790.
SWISS GAMES TABLE
This walnut and cherrywood table has a heavy, hinged, fold-over top, with rounded corners and a brown, gilt-leather inner surface. The shaped table skirt is carved and the capriole legs are carved at the knees and
tips. The rear leg swings back to support the open top. c.1780.

Occasional Tables

In the 18th century occasional tables became more varied in style. They were small and light, and so could be moved into reception rooms as required. Many of these tables were highly
decorative, but gradually they became more utilitarian and were often designed for specific purposes.
A passion for games and gambling resulted in a proliferation of card tables. By the end of the century, French card tables were fitted for every sort of game: roulette, chess, backgammon, and jeu de l`oie.
A wide variety of writing tables was developed. The larger, portable tables made for writing were called tables d ecrirc. Some were fitted with candle slides that pulled out from the sides.
The newly fashionable custom of gathering to drink tea and coffee required two or even three tables: one table with a gallery around the edge, on which to place the china; a round table at which people sat and
conversed; and a kettle stand. In the grandest homes, the kettle stand had a silver salver shaped to fit the top, with a silver coffee- or tea-pot on top of it.
Worktables first appeared in the second half of the 18th century. Those made for sewing often had tops that lifted up to reveal small drawers for holding reels of thread and other sewing accessories. Some sewing tables had fabric bags hanging beneath them, in which the needlework was kept. These were made from wooden frames covered with fabric that slid into runners in the base of the frames. French sewing tables, tables en chiffoniere, did not usually have these. Some English worktables were also fitted with a leather surface for writing.
The French table de salon, meaning sitting room table”, served many purposes. It had an ormolu gallery around the top, with three drawers and a shelf below The intricate decoration meant it was elegant enough for formal reception rooms.
Many portable tables contained a fire screen, often made of the finest textiles or displaying needlework
displaying skills. The screen protected the face and legs of anyone sitting in front of a fire, and was particularly important for ladies who wished to protect their
wax-based cosmetics from melting.
The cabriole legs are gently curved.
The legs terminate in foliate ormolu sabots.
The tambour front slides back to reveal six small, ring-handled drawers.
The top is inlaid with flowers and has protruding; rounded corners.
The frieze is inlaid to simulate fluting. It has a single front drawer.
The sides are inlaid with crossbanded borders wit, geometric banding and Neoclassical decoration
ENGLISH WORKTABLE
This transitional-style worktable has an inlaid top above a single drawer. The table has a tambour front and an incurved shelf, and terminates in cabriole legs. c.1770.
FRENCH TABLE DE SALON
This satinwood and holly table has a pierced ormolu gallery. The case, three drawers, and shelf are ornately inlaid. The tapering legs end in ormolu sabots. c.1780.
ITALIAN FIRE SCREEN TABLE
The entire surface of this olivewood table is veneered. It has a serpentine skirt and slender cabriole legs. The silk-lined fire screen moves up and down at the back of the table. c.1780.
ENGLISH WRITING TABLE
This one-drawer, mahogany table has a leather-inset top. A silk-upholstered, adjustable face screen is fitted at the back. It has square, tapering legs with brass casters. c.1790.
FRENCH WORKTABLE
This diagonally veneered, single-drawer table has a cambered top and cabriole legs. It has a drawer in the mid-shelf, and a fire screen at the back. c.1760.
ENGLISH KETTLE STAND
This small mahogany stand has a circular top with a brass-lined spindle gallery. The fluted column has a leaf-carved baluster knob above a tripod base, with claw-and-ball feet. c.1760
FRENCH SEWING TABLE
This table has a marble top surrounded by a pierced three-quarter gallery. The parquetry-veneered case contains two drawers. It has a shaped frame, lower shelf, cabriole legs, and ormolu feet. c.1765.
BONHEURS-DU-JOUR
A SMALL, FEMININE WRITING TABLE FOR LADIES, THE BONHEUR-DU-JOUR WAS FIRST MADE IN FRANCE IN THE 1760s. ITS NAME REFERS TO THE FACT THAT SUCH PIECES SOON BECAME EXTREMELY POPULAR.
The bonheur-du-jour (”pleasure of the day ) is a small, light, elegant desk or dressing table. It is different from other writing tables in that it has a raised back, like a miniature cabinet, made up of shelves, drawers, or pigeonholes designed to hold papers, writing accessories, and sometimes toiletries. Occasionally,
a mirror was also included. The top of the table is usually surrounded by a brass or gilded gallery which often served for displaying small ornaments. Beneath it are drawers, or a small cupboard. These sometimes have tambour doors that slide into the case – another example of the technical skill of the cabinetmaker. The table invariably has long, graceful, slender legs, occasionally with a shelf attached to them about halfway down.
The bon lieu r-du jour was made by many of the famous French cabinet-makers, such as Martin Carlin, who designed 11 of them. The most exquisite examples, such as Carlin, were mounted with plaques of Sevres
porcelain and painted with delicate floral patterns, or richly decorated with fine marquetry, Oriental lacquer panels, and ormolu
jour were valued both for their delicate beauty and for the skill and ingenuity with which hidden drawers and compartments were concealed within such a small space. Originating in France, their popularity soon spread,
partly due to the increased importance of women in society at this time. They appeared in grand British houses from about 1770 onwards.
Louis XVI mahogany bonheur-du-jour This desk has a marble top and a brass three-quarter gallery, with a glazed upper section and a roll-top desk element.
Louis XV cherrywood honheur-du-jour The
upper section has two doors, and the lower section holds a long, single drawer. The case is set on cabriole legs.
GERMAN DRESSING TABLE
This solid cherry table from southern Germany has a wide, overhanging top above two small drawers. It stands on tall, tapering legs. Late 18th century.
FRENCH WRITING TABLE
The table top has a gilt-bronze-edged frieze and is inlaid with flower-heads and a ribbon border. The drawer is fitted with a sliding writing surface, inkwell, pounce-pot, and pen tray. c.1780.
FRENCH WRITING TABLE
The top is inlaid with lozenges and a central floral cartouche. The frieze has a geometric inlay and a drawer. Each side has a pull-out writing slide. c.1780.
GERMAN GAMES TABLE
This provincial walnut, cherry, and native fruitwood table top is supported on tapered legs. The surface is inlaid with a chess board; the interior is fitted for back-gammon. c.1780.
ENGLISH WORKTABLE
This satinwood table has contrasting ebony stringing, an inset leather top, and two candle slides. The case has a fitted drawer over a wool box and is supported on square, tapered legs. c.1785.
FRENCH OCCASIONAL TABLE
This sycamore, kingwood, and floral marquetry table has a Sevres-style plaque in the top. It has a pierced brass gallery and mounts, three drawers, and a lower shelf. c. 1780.