George III Mahogany Console Table, c. 1770

With a rectangular Portoro marble top above a finely carved leaf-form apron, the table is raised on freestanding Gothic columnar supports joined by an elaborate pierced fretwork X-form stretcher. The base is distinguished by its open construction and exceptional carving. The contrast between the substantial marble top and the delicately pierced framework gives the table a distinctive profile.

The clustered columnar supports and Gothic ornament relate closely to Thomas Chippendale’s published design for a “Gothick Side-Board,” plate LX of the 1762 third edition of The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director.¹ The table is not a direct copy, but combines this architectural vocabulary with an unusually elaborate pierced X-form stretcher. The marble top is antique, though likely later.

As a console, serving table, or center table, the piece is remarkably versatile. The open fretwork base offsets the visual weight of the marble top, allowing it to sit comfortably in both traditional and contemporary interiors.

It’s hard for me to pass on a piece that gives the impression it really knows what it’s doing — that it has a job to do, whether supporting a great object or working with the mirror or art above it.

PROVENANCE
With Basil Dighton, London, England (among the more prominent London antiques dealers of the early 20th century; in partnership with Leonard Partridge, 1928–1930);
Purchased October 1, 1924, by Julia Murphy Grant, wife of the Honorable Hugh J. Grant, Mayor of New York, 1889–1892;
By descent in the family;
Private collection, New York, United States.

REFERENCE
¹ T. Chippendale, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director, 1762, pl. LX.