A George III Period Mahogany Drum Table

English, Circa. 1800

An exceptional George III period mahogany and ebony lined revolving drum table of outstanding quality, colour and proportion.

The circular top is inset with a beautifully patinated deep dark leather, enclosed within a mahogany crossbanded border and further accentuated by delicate ebony stringing.

The revolving drum is fitted with eight elegantly dovetailed solid mahogany drawers, each individually lined with ebony and retaining its original bone-inlaid designation. Unusually, the sequence commences with the letter “J” rather than a numerical marking, a distinctive and intriguing feature.

The revolving top is particularly noteworthy. In many drum tables of this type, alternate drawer fronts are merely dummy drawers employed to maintain symmetry.

In contrast, all eight drawers on this example are fully functional, demonstrating a superior level of cabinet-making and greatly enhancing its practicality.

The table retains its original brass D- loop handles and original brass castors. The turned pedestal is enriched with an unusual and highly decorative band of stylised waterleaf carving to the lower section of the stem, above four elegant sabre legs.

These are further embellished with recessed carving to their upper surfaces and united visually by bold, deeply cut fluting that radiates between the legs, an uncommon and particularly striking detail.

Displaying a rich, untouched colour and excellent figuring throughout the mahogany, this is a drum table of exceptional presence, distinguished not only by its unusual construction and survival of original features, but also by the refinement of its design and craftsmanship.

Glued down on the bottom of drawer 6 sits a Will stating to who the table needs to go after the owners passing.

“If my sister in law Cecilia Grantham Storr should be living at my death, I wish this table to be given to her; also a cushion covered with blu chintz which covered on furniture at Herringfleet. G Renaud Hertford, June 1871”

In between the top and the upper part of the pedestal sits another label. It has worn significantly but you can just made out the name Storr. We therefore assume that Cecilia, mentioned in the original note from 1781 would have inherited the table.

Dimensions

Diameter 91,5 cm (36″)
Height 74.5 cm (29 1/2”)