A REGENCY DROP LEAF CENTER TABLE WITH INSET DERBYSHIRE FOSSIL MARBLE TOP

A REGENCY MAHOGANY DROP LEAF CENTER TABLE WITH INSET DERBYSHIRE FOSSIL MARBLE TOP

English. Early Nineteenth Century.
Measurements
Height: 28 3/4 (73cm); Width when closed 28" (71cm); Width when open 49" (124 cm); Depth 21 (53cm)
Research
Of mahogany. The rectangular top with inset crinoid marble panel, flanked by two rounded-edge drop flaps on each side (flaps possibly very old additions), raised on a turned stem above four reeded downswept legs on brass castors.

The unusual inset top of the preset table is made of a specimen known as Derbyshire fossil marble, a fossil-rich limestone containing crinoids, an ancient marine animal group that appeared 300 million years before dinosaurs; “they flourished in the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic eras and some survive to the present day.”1 During this period, the combination of low landmass and rising sea levels resulted in shallow seas with rich ecosystems. Also called “sea-lilies” (the name of their taxonimic class, Crinoidea, is derived from krinon, which is Greek for “lily”) the creatures are related to starfish and sea urchins. When fossilized, they look like beautiful plants with feathery fronds issuing from a central stem that anchored to a solid surface.

Full research report available on request.