Tables

The shaped top is crossbanded in calamander with an ebony molded edge above a conforming frieze drawer with rosewood inlay. Inspired by contemporary French tables, its graceful proportions and restrained ornament exemplify the Chippendale taste of the mid-eighteenth century. The table is raised on attenuated ebony-inlaid cabriole legs, and its restrained use of contrasting woods reflects the refined cabinetmaking of the period.

A low three-quarter gallery encloses the top, while the single drawer provides discreet storage. Compact in scale, it can serve as a side table or writing table, or be placed beside a chair or bed.

The first time I heard someone describe a piece of furniture as “beautifully drawn” was about this very table more than twenty years ago. That description here certainly holds up.

PROVENANCE
With Hyde Park Antiques, Ltd., New York, United States;
Private collection, New York, United States.

Elegant and unusually slender, the tables rise from richly figured rosewood plinths on gilt-brass columns enriched with foliate capitals and bases. The mirrored backs reflect the figured rosewood platforms below, adding depth to the open forms and visually extending the space around them. The later tops are thoughtfully composed of white Carrara panels framed in Siena marble. Their narrow proportions make the pair particularly useful as pier, side, or bedside tables.

I’ve always liked consoles with mirrors. They  create space where there really isn’t any, making a room feel larger and even a rug seem more expansive.

The table features a scalloped circular top with a molded edge and pierced gallery supported by delicate baluster turnings above the original birdcage mechanism. The fluted baluster-form standard rises from three cabriole legs with carved knees terminating in finely executed ball-and-claw feet. The vividly figured rosewood is particularly striking throughout.

The combination of Chinese craftsmanship and English Georgian design is characteristic of Anglo-Chinese furniture produced for Western merchants and officials connected with the British East India Company. Furniture of this type was intended for use in Canton, Macao, and other trading outposts in the East.¹

Compact in scale and versatile in use, the table works equally well beside a chair, sofa, or bed.

Not only is this table one of my all-time favorite pieces, it’s now the third time in my possession. Maybe time to finally keep it…

The solid rosewood top is formed from a single plank with a gadrooned edge above two drawers with raised cushion fronts framed by intricate dentil molding; the reverse has matching false drawers, allowing the table to stand freely within a room. It is raised on exuberantly turned legs joined by a deep barley-twist box stretcher and terminating in boldly turned feet.

Portuguese furniture of the nineteenth century often embraced a more vigorous approach to turning than much contemporary English work, and this table is a particularly strong example of that tradition. The heavily modeled legs, dense turning, and barley-twist stretcher contribute significantly to its character.

The rosewood displays rich color and figuring throughout. The use of a single-plank top further distinguishes the table and reflects the quality of the timber selected for its construction.

I’ve always liked tables like this because, in spite of their size, they seem to work almost anywhere. They’re just as convincing in an old-world interior as in a completely modern one. I’m always pleased when I see one in a room.

Elegant and confident in design, the table displays beautifully radiating satinwood veneers, superb rosewood and kingwood crossbanding throughout, and a richly figured central panel of burr yew. The demilune top is veneered in radial segments and outlined with finely executed banding and inlay.

The bold geometry and use of contrasting woods are strongly characteristic of late eighteenth-century Dublin cabinetmaking.¹

Ideal as a pier table, console, or serving table.

I like walking into a room and seeing a table of this shape. There’s something about the curved front that immediately softens a wall, especially when the scale and color are this good.

Bold and highly sculptural, the table has a circular top veneered in finely figured pollard oak with beautifully book-matched veneers, crossbanding, and ebony inlay, above a richly cast brass molding to the perimeter. The table is raised on a tricluster pedestal encircled by carved and giltwood collars, terminating in a tripartite base similarly inlaid with ebony stringing and supported on gadrooned bun feet fitted with recessed casters.

The table displays several features associated with the work of the celebrated English designer George Bullock, including its tricluster pedestal, boldly modeled base, and use of ebony inlay. Bullock was also known for his use of indigenous woods, often elevating native timbers through sophisticated design and craftsmanship rather than relying exclusively on imported exotic materials.

The richly figured pollard oak is selected and laid to emphasize the movement of the grain across the top. The combination of pollard oak, ebony inlay, giltwood collars, and brass molding is particularly successful.

Suitable as a center table, library table, or intimate dining table.

I like furniture that does the heavy lifting. Put a table like this in a room and I feel like most of the work is already done.

With a spirited stance and highly unusual proportions, this example retains a richly colored top with a thumb-molded edge and re-entrant “baby’s bum” corners above three drawers with finely cockbeaded edges. Original brass hardware remains throughout above a shaped scalloped apron, all raised on particularly jaunty cabriole legs terminating in spurred hoof feet.

The animated silhouette and unusually expressive legs are uncommon in early eighteenth-century oak furniture. Compact in scale, it possesses a sense of movement and confidence rarely encountered in oak furniture of the period.

Ideal beside a chair, sofa, or bed, this lowboy serves equally well as a practical side table or as a sculptural accent within an interior. Its rich color, compact proportions, and lively stance allow it to integrate naturally into both traditional and contemporary settings.

Quite a lot of eighteenth-century furniture looks like it could actually walk around a room on its own. I find vernacular furniture often wants to hop, sprint, or jump.

With richly figured mahogany tops framed by satinwood edging and kingwood crossbanding, the friezes and tapering legs are further embellished with tulipwood oval reserves and elongated panels, all outlined with ebony and boxwood stringing.

The graceful proportions give the pair an uncommon versatility. The contrast between the richly figured mahogany and the inlaid decoration reflects the neoclassical taste of the period.

This pair of tables is exceptionally useful, their unusual size allowing them to function equally well as console tables, lamp tables, or bedside tables. The attenuated legs and crisp linear ornament give the design an elegance characteristic of the best late George III furniture.

My first reaction was that something was missing. Then I realized there wasn’t—there was just a bit less. They’re perfect.

Richly figured walnut and rosewood veneers are combined with ebony veneering and finely cast ormolu mounts throughout. The rectangular top is framed by an acanthus-cast ormolu edge above a slender columnar support with gilt-mounted fluting, raised on a quadripartite base with scrolling legs in the Louis XIV manner. The contrast between the warm veneers, dark ebony ground, and gilt metalwork is especially effective.

The table reflects the strong French influence present in the finest English Regency furniture and relates closely to the work of the London cabinetmaker Thomas Parker. Best known for his revival of Boulle work during the Regency period, Parker frequently adapted Régence and Louis XIV forms to English tastes, combining French ornament with the cleaner proportions favored during the reign of George IV.

Several documented tables attributed to Parker employ closely related bases, including examples with scrolling quadripartite supports, lion-mask mounts, and clustered column shafts. A closely related tripod table attributed to Parker and supplied to George IV was illustrated by H. Blairman & Sons in 2007.¹

Thomas Parker operated from 19 Air Street, Piccadilly between 1808 and 1817, later relocating to Warwick Street, Golden Square, where he remained active into the late 1820s. The Prince Regent, later George IV, patronized the firm and commissioned notable furniture for Carlton House, including a pair of caskets-on-stands.²

I love that this table appears to have understood the assignment and is ready to get on with it.

The rectangular top is inset with a tooled brown leather writing surface, bordered by finely executed marquetry incorporating rosewood, tulipwood, kingwood, and ebony inlay, above three frieze drawers fitted with gilt-bronze handles and escutcheons. The corners are mounted with cast floral ormolu plaques, and the table is raised on tapering fluted legs with additional ormolu collars, terminating in brass casters. The drawers are lined in mahogany and cedar.

Particularly appealing is the contrast between the warm satinwood veneers, richly colored inlays, and restrained use of ormolu throughout. The piece possesses a light, architectural elegance while maintaining a strong decorative presence. The marquetry borders and floral corner inlays are especially fine, displaying a precision and delicacy associated with sophisticated English cabinetmaking of the mid-19th century.

Though inspired by late 18th-century French and English neoclassical furniture, the design avoids excessive ornament, relying instead on proportion, restrained detailing, and exceptional materials. The mellow patina of the satinwood, combined with the worn leather writing surface, gives the piece considerable character and authenticity. Notably, it appears to retain its original surfaces throughout, including what is likely the original leather writing surface.

I like a writing table that doesn’t make sitting down at it feel like work.

With a rectangular Portoro marble top above a finely carved leaf-form apron, the table is raised on freestanding Gothic columnar supports joined by an elaborate pierced fretwork X-form stretcher. The base is distinguished by its open construction and exceptional carving. The contrast between the substantial marble top and the delicately pierced framework gives the table a distinctive profile.

The clustered columnar supports and Gothic ornament relate closely to Thomas Chippendale’s published design for a “Gothick Side-Board,” plate LX of the 1762 third edition of The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director.¹ The table is not a direct copy, but combines this architectural vocabulary with an unusually elaborate pierced X-form stretcher. The marble top is antique, though likely later.

As a console, serving table, or center table, the piece is remarkably versatile. The open fretwork base offsets the visual weight of the marble top, allowing it to sit comfortably in both traditional and contemporary interiors.

It’s hard for me to pass on a piece that gives the impression it really knows what it’s doing — that it has a job to do, whether supporting a great object or working with the mirror or art above it.

PROVENANCE
With Basil Dighton, London, England (among the more prominent London antiques dealers of the early 20th century; in partnership with Leonard Partridge, 1928–1930);
Purchased October 1, 1924, by Julia Murphy Grant, wife of the Honorable Hugh J. Grant, Mayor of New York, 1889–1892;
By descent in the family;
Private collection, New York, United States.

Elegant and refined, the table rises from a richly figured rosewood plinth on gilt-brass columns enriched with foliate capitals and bases, while the mirrored back reflects the figured platform below, lending depth to the open form and visually extending the space around it. The later top, thoughtfully composed of a white Carrara panel framed in Siena marble, adds a rich contrast of color and material, making the table equally effective as a pier or side table.

Shallow tables are just useful. They work in entrances and hallways, give you somewhere to put keys, flowers, mail, or whatever else accumulates, and don’t ask much in return.

Torch-cut and patinated steel, fused bronze, glass enamel

A deeply recessed, bowl-form upper section is raised on a dynamic tripod base. Its surface is densely worked with clustered vertical elements of varying heights, creating a complex interior landscape. Rich tones of blue, violet, and black emerge through the darkened surface. A fitted circular glass top rests within the raised perimeter.

The table reflects Bearden’s ability to merge sculpture and functional design. The heavily worked surface and organic asymmetry recall geological, mineral, and marine forms, while the circular top and tripod base provide a strong underlying structure.

As with much of Bearden’s work, surface and material play a central role, with layered patination and fused elements creating substantial depth and variation.

James Bearden (American, b. 1964) is an abstract sculptor whose work explores the intersection of sculpture, architecture, and functional design. Working primarily in metal, Bearden has produced a number of ongoing series, including Cathedral, Assemblage, Voids, and Lunar Blooms. His work is held in corporate, municipal, and prominent private collections.

James’s pieces are hyper-organic — they look less made than discovered, as if they’ve fallen from space or been pulled from the bottom of the ocean after a thousand years. This little table feels like it has a story that started somewhere far beyond the studio where it was made.

PROVENANCE
Acquired from the artist.

Each of square form, fitted with bold brass carrying handles and retaining its original removable zinc-lined interior, now fitted with a custom glass top. Superbly constructed with large exposed dovetails, the faux bamboo molding and brass hardware are characteristic of the Chinese-inspired aesthetic that informed much of George Zee’s production during the period.

The pair is representative of the work of George Zee & Co., one of the leading Hong Kong furniture makers and exporters of the mid-twentieth century. The firm became known for producing furnishings inspired by traditional Chinese forms, often executed in richly figured hardwoods and distinguished by quality construction and strong proportions.

Originally intended as jardinières or wine coolers, these examples have been fitted with custom glass tops, allowing them to function as highly practical side tables while preserving their original character. The pair displays minor variations consistent with a matched pair and presents beautifully from all angles.

The first reaction is always instinct. Then comes the test: the quality of the materials, how well they were made, how difficult they would be to find again, and whether they make sense in the market. Nothing changed my mind.