A satinwood, tulipwood, boxwood and ebony inlaid Demi-Elliptical side table

A satinwood, tulipwood, boxwood and ebony inlaid Demi-Elliptical side table with painted watercolor top depicting a Maenad from the Villa di Cicerone
English. Early Nineteenth Century.
Measurements
Height: 33 5/8" (85.4 cm); Width: 40" (101.6 cm); Depth: 18" (45.7 cm).

Research:
Of satinwood, tulipwood, boxwood, ebony, and watercolor on paper. The demi-elliptical top inset with watercolor picture of a classical female figure within a wheat sheaf border, with festoons of grape vines and satyr masks to the outer edge above a frieze with inlaid simulated fluting. The whole raised on four square tapering legs.

The classical female figure featured on the tabletop is derived from an ancient Roman fresco of a Maenad “dancer” with amphora and dish of figs found in the triclinium (dining room) of what is today known as the Villa di Cicerone, or Villa of Cicero, in Pompeii, circa 15-45 AD. It is one of a group of seven original frescoes removed from the Villa, held today in the Museuo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Maenads were nymphs that were followers of Bacchus and the most important members of his retinue.

The table itself is noteworthy not least for the unusual attribute of the watercolor top, which must have been specifically made for it. The base clearly dates from the English neoclassical period of the 1780s and its extremely elegant shaping and slender tapering legs would have been perfectly at home within Adamesque interior decoration.

Full research report available on request.