Lyon & Turnbull
Lot 24
PAIR OF ROSEWOOD MARQUETRY, MOTHER-OF-PEARL, SILVER METAL, AND BRASS BANDED OCCASIONAL TABLES CIRCA the shaped rectangular tops inlaid with specimen woods and white metal stringing, centred by a coronet and four inlaid white metal entwined Bs, the cypher for the Marquess of Breadalbane, raised on folding X supports with trestle bases(67cm wide, 72cm high, 46.5cm deep)Footnote: Note: These exquisite folding tables, executed in a variety of contrasting exotic veneers and luxury materials, were most likely supplied for John Campbell, 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane, prior to the 1842 visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The west wing of Taymouth Castle was exentisively re-modelled from 1837-1842 by James Gillespie Graham, with interior decoration supervised by the London firm J. G. Crace. Invoices from the firm from 1842 reveal that they did not supply any of the furniture for the refurbishment, with much of the work completed by the Edinburgh furniture company founded by William Trotter, often to the designs of A.W.N. Pugin. While the Banner Hall and Library lavishly adhered to the neo-Gothic taste, others spaces were designed with a less purist approach. These tables, while not truly Gothic in their style, are nonetheless evocative of an earlier style, with elements reminiscent of furniture from the late 17th century. They are designed for convenience; to be quickly set up and moved where needed, but the informal nature of their purpose is quickly overshadowed by the sumptuous execution and materials. The inclusion of the Marquess's cypher, delicately inlaid into the centre of each table top, had one purpose; to impress and remind the user of the power and influence of the family within whose house they reside.
