Object Description
An interesting George III yew wood marquetry side table, firmly attributed to Ince and Mayhew, the demilune top veneered principally in burr yew wood inlaid with a fan of satinwood and radiating harewood, separated by holly stringing, the frieze cross banded in harewood with each panel containing a design featuring feathered boss-type paterae and swags of drapery, with penwork detailing, raised on four tapering square section legs with collared toes. English, circa 1780.
Provenance: A distinguished European private collection.
Footnote: The feathered bosses are a particular feature of the inlay work of the Ince and Mayhew partnership, one of the most prominent firms operating in London in the late 18th century. In their book ‘Industry and Ingenuity – The Partnership of William Ince and John Mayhew’ Sir Hugh Roberts and Charles Cator identify the source for these feathered bosses as Robert Wood’s 1753 publication ‘The Ruins of Palmyra’. This book is credited by many with establishing the craze for neoclassicism in Europe and the relevant plate, depicting all manner of feathered boss designs from a ceiling in Palmyra, is illustrated below. The blocks on the frieze of our table are inlaid with large scale and stylised harebells and the legs also incorporate the feathered boss motifs and tapering feathered panels.
Further indications of a likely Ince and Mayhew authorship for the present piece are provided by the extensive use of burr yew, a trademark of the firm’s production and the engraved detailing applied to the inlay to give it additional depth and character.
A side or serving table of similar character but with different sources of inlay is in Kingston Lacy in Dorset, having been supplied by Ince and Mayhew to the Bankes family there in 1786.