Description & Technical information

Designed by William Chambers and attributed to John Linnell.
A drawing by Chambers for a table with very similar features is preserved in Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, England. A related drawing by Linnell is preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.Two photographs preserved in the Hotspur Archive from the 1950s show the mirrors in Johannesburg, South Africa, presumably in a sale room.
Note: The mirrors retain virtually all the original gesso preparation with refreshed gilding. The mirror plates are 19th century replacements. The tables retain most of the original gesso preparation with refreshed gilding and the original marble tops.

The tables:
Height: 39 in; 99 cm
Width: 41 in; 104 cm
Depth: 23 in; 58 cm
The mirrors:
Height: 69 in; 175 cm
Width: 29 in; 74 cm



Date:  1775
Period:  George III
Origin:  English
Medium: Giltwood
Provenance: Private collection, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Hotspur Ltd., London, England.
Private collection, Switzerland.
Literature: 

Helena Hayward & Pat Kirkham, William and John Linnnell - Eighteenth Century London Furniture Makers, vol II, London 1980, figs. 194/287.
John Harris & Micheal Snodin, Sir William Chambers-Architect to George III, London 1996, pp. 142, 166, ill. 249.



Categories: Furniture