A George I Gilt-Gesso Side Table, in the Manner of James Moore, circa 1720

A George I Gilt-Gesso Side Table, in the Manner of James Moore, circa 1720

A Superb George I Gilt-Gesso Side Table, in the Manner of James Moore, circa 1720

A superb early 18th century gilt-gesso side table of particularly elegant proportions, formerly from a private London collection.

The rectangular top is finely worked with an elaborate symmetrical arrangement of scrolling acanthus, foliage and flowerheads centred by a bold foliate motif, all set against a punched ground and enclosed by a raised moulded border. The frieze is similarly decorated with scrolling acanthus and foliate ornament, raised on elegant cabriole legs carved at the knees and terminating in foliate-carved pad feet.

Finely gessoed and richly water gilded throughout, the exceptional quality of the decoration is characteristic of the most accomplished London workshops of the first quarter of the 18th century. The combination of scrolling acanthus, finely punched grounds and crisply modelled relief relates closely to the work associated with the leading cabinetmakers and gilt-gesso specialists of the period, most notably James Moore.

Tables of this type were frequently conceived as part of larger schemes of gilt pier furniture, positioned beneath pier glasses and often accompanied by matching stands, torchères or other elements. James Moore, alongside contemporaries such as John Gumley, supplied richly gilded furniture for some of the most important royal and aristocratic interiors of the period.

The extraordinary punched ground was not merely decorative. In candlelit interiors, the contrast between burnished and textured gilding animated the surface, while its position beneath a pier glass further multiplied and reflected the light.

A particularly decorative and finely executed example of early Georgian gilt-gesso furniture.

Provenance:
Private London Collection.

Comparative example:
Related early 18th century arrangements of gilt tables beneath pier glasses survive at Erddig, illustrating the manner in which such pieces formed part of unified decorative schemes.