An Irish George II Gilt-Gesso Table

Circa 1740

Height 29 1/2 x width 35 1/2 x depth 21 inches.

This lot is located in Chicago.

Provenance:

Moss Harris, London (with ivorine label)

Partridge, London, 17 February 1989 (with invoice)

Note:

This table’s distinctive lion’s mask frieze as well as its top which is lushly decorated with sunflowers indicate its Irish origins. As the vast majority of gilt-gesso tables were produced in England, related Irish examples are rare and include a pair almost certainly supplied to the 14th Lord Howth, circa 1738 for Howth Castle (Glin and J. Peill, Irish Furniture, New Haven, 2007, p. 83, fig. 105) and subsequently sold anonymously at Fonsie Mealy, 8 September 2021, lot 522 (€168,000 hammer). Another pair, also with sunflowers but heavily restored were sold anonymously at Christie’s, London, 14 November 2017, lot 156 (£10,0000). A related single table sold anonymously at Sotheby’s, New York, 31 March 2011, lot 385 ($37,500). A pier table possibly supplied to Alexander McDonnell, 5th Earl of Antrim (1713-1775), circa 1740, also features a lion’s mask (Ibid, p. 222, fig. 66).

Well-preserved, unrestored condition. Decoration largely original, with only minor areas of re-pouncing and restoration. The cutting and gesso finely-executed and largely intact. The underside with visible cracking across the length of the table; the underside re-inforced with three strips. A few chipped surface areas exposing the gesso beneath the gilding. With a small section of loss along the front of the apron, adjacent to the front-right leg, detached pieces present.

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Property from the Fred and Kay Krehbiel Collection, Part I

An Irish George II Gilt-Gesso Table

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