Sheppard's Irish Auction House
Lot 579
GEORGE III PERIOD MAHOGANY CHIPPENDALE SILVER TABLE, CIRCA 1780 the rectangular shaped top, below a pierced fretwork gallery rail, above a blind fretwork carved frieze, raised on pierced fretwork bracket headed square chamfered legs, terminating on block feet, with inset brass castors 74 cm. high; 86 cm. wide; 54 cm. deepThe importance of the silver table in the late eighteenth-century is stemmed from the prevailing social hierarchy, and as a focal point in the tea-making ritual of the period. Evolved from a tray for silver on a stand, they originated in England where they were popular amongst the elite.Silver tables were used to display the ceramic tea set and as a tea table when it was time to take tea. Tea drinking was a signifier of wealth and of good taste. Because of this, well-to-do families proudly displayed the trappings associated with the ritual. Like tea, ceramics imported from China (the only country to give its name to a product) were expensive, indeed, very expensive. In a classic example of form following function, the precious china was protected from falling off the edge by a fence-like gallery rail that ran around the rim of the tabletop: the swishing of ladies’ petticoats being a particularly high risk factor. Chinoiserie was a style that developed on foot of the influence of exotic porcelain, lacquerware, bronzes and other forms of applied and decorative arts imported from China and Japan. Such was the fascination that Europeans began to create their own fanciful interpretations of oriental styles and motifs. This new style, derived from the French word chinois (Chinese), became known as Chinoiserie.Thomas Chippendale, 1718 – 1779, interpreted oriental motifs and transformed them into fretwork and carved decoration in his Chinoiserie designs. In 1754 he published a book of his designs, titled The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director, for which he gained fame and renown. He was one of England’s finest furniture makers. Harewood House, near Leeds, in his native Yorkshire represented his biggest commission. He is buried beneath the National Gallery in London.
