Pair Of 19th. Century Neo Classical Marquetry Inlaid Satinwood And Rosewood Crossbanded Demi Lune Console Tables

No: 411X

A pair of 19th. Century Satinwood and Rosewood crossbanded Neo-classical Marquetry Inlaid demi-lune Pier or Console Tables in the manner of Mayhew & Ince, the elliptical tops with central fan sunburst and classical urns joined by swagged husk chains held by griffins above simulated fluted friezes on square tapering legs headed by paterae with trailing riband tied husk chains,

Height:33”,84 cms, Width: 57”,146 cms, Depth:20.5”, 53cms.

Price: £17,500-00p.

Attribution: Wright & Mansfield of London, after the designs of Robert Adam and pieces made in the 18th century by Mayhew & Ince.

Trends are Cyclical, Quality is Forever

One of the great truths of life is that trends, in fashion, art and even interiors, come and go; then they swing right back around with those small adjustments that bring them to life again in a more modern era. What better example of this is found in design than the resurgence of admiration for neoclassically-inspired revival furniture in the late 19th century?

Nearly one hundred years after the big names of late 18th-century Neoclassicism, from Chippendale and the Adam brothers to Ince & Mayhew and Sheraton, had made their mark, furniture makers like Wright & Mansfield of London revived their styles in the exceptional quality of their own time. Their works were not considered as simple reproductions but as artistic, influential, and praiseworthy creations in their own right.

A pair of Satinwood Demi-lune Console Tables with marvellous and mythical inlays found their way into the showrooms at Harvey’s Antiques, and they are an excellent example of quality 19th-century cabinetmaking in the manner of the 18th-century Neoclassical creations by Ince & Mayhew after the designs of Robert Adam. The exceptional materials, construction and visual motifs indicate that these Console Tables are almost certainly by Wright & Mansfield.

A Brief History

The firm of Wright & Mansfield first rose to prominence for the general public during the International Exhibition in London in 1862, where they displayed a “sensational” Satinwood cabinet. They became one of the most admired and exclusive Victorian Furniture makers in England, producing the very finest pieces in the Adam and Sheraton Revival styles.

Established at 184 New Bond Street between 1860 and 1886, Wright & Mansfield were described in “The Cabinetmaker and Art Furnisher” Vol. II as “...the leaders of that pleasing fashion which was happily brought back into our houses many of the charming shapes of the renowned 18th-century cabinet makers”.

In fact, the Victoria and Albert Museum displays a marquetry Cabinet made for the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 that is remarkably comparable to the pair of Console Tables at Harvey’s. The museum’s Cabinet was the only piece of British furniture to be awarded a Gold Medal at the Exposition and was perceived as “very English” due to the use of Satinwood and Neoclassical decoration. The same Cabinet was acquired in 1868 by the V&A, followed in 1886 by “a collection of marquetry panels for interior decoration, two small tables and a pair of these chairs from the sale of the stock of Wright and Mansfield” to show its visitors the difference between 18th-century furniture and 19th-century reproduction pieces of the highest quality. The V&A Cabinet was designed by a “Mr. Crosse” of whom nothing further appears to be known.
Alfred Thomas Wright first came to notice in 1856 as a junior partner in the firm of Samuel Hanson, a cabinetmaker and upholsterer trading from 16 John Street (later renamed as Great Portland Street), and 106 Oxford Street.

The company was joined by George Needham Mansfield, son of the old established builders and decorators George Mansfield, of Gray’s Inn Lane and Wigmore Street, and the firm is recorded in Post Office journals as Hanson, Wright and Mansfield at the above addresses until 1861 when Hanson died.

Neoclassical Revival Motifs

The creators of the Satinwood and Rosewood Console Tables had a firm grasp of the work of Ince & Mayhew, a prominent company in the latter half of the 18th century who frequently created pieces commissioned by Robert Adam. The 19th-century influence of Ince & Mayhew, and even Chippendale, in the fan motifs, swags of bellflowers, husks and balanced fan designs in the elaborate marquetry is unmistakable.

Lit:
Beard, G. (1978). The Work of Robert Adam. 1992nd ed. Slovenia: Bloomsbury Books.
Bowett, A., Lomax, J., Leeds City Museum and Chippendale Society (2018). Thomas Chippendale 1718-1779 a Celebration of British Craftsmanship and Design: Catalogue of the Tercentenary Exhibition Leeds City Museum 2018. Leeds, UK: The Chippendale Society.

Donnelly, M. (2001). British Furniture at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, 1876. Furniture History: The Journal of The Furniture History Society, XXXVII, pp.91–120.
Gilbert, C. (1978). The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale. 35 Red Lion Square, London, WCIR 4SG, UK: Cassell Ltd.
Ince, W. and Mayhew, J. (1960). The Universal System of Household Furniture, 1762. London, UK: Alec Tiranti.
Harris, E. (1996). Adams in the Family: Wright and Mansfield at Haddo, Guisachan, Brook House and Grosvenor Square. Furniture History: The Journal of The Furniture History Society, XXXII, pp.141–158.
John Burley Waring (1863). Masterpieces of Industrial Art & Sculpture at the International Exhibition, 1862. London, UK: Day & Son, p.104.
Roberts, H. and Cator, C. (2022). Industry and Ingenuity: The Partnership of William Ince and John Mayhew. 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK: Philip Wilson Publishers.
The Art-Journal Catalogue of the International Exhibition, 1862. (1862). London, UK: James S Virtue.

Condition report:

Very good condition with minor wear