Object Description
This is a magnificent antique William IV flame mahogany dining table which can comfortably seat eighteen and is also ideal for use as a conference table, C1830 in date.
This beautiful table is in stunning solid flame mahogany and has eight leaves of approximately 50 cm each, which can be added or removed as required to suit the occasion.
It it is rectangular with D shaped ends and stands on six elegantly carved turned reeded and tapered legs that terminate in their original brass and brown porcelain castors.
The leaves can be added and removed as required to suit the occasion by a special double ended winding mechanism.
It is a very impressive table which is sure to contribute to successful dinner parties.
Provenance:
Yester House,
Gifford, East Lothian
Scotland
See Photo
Condition:
In really excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned, polished and waxed in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 78 cm x Width 540 cm x Depth 145 cm – Fully Extended
Height 78 cm x Width 167 cm x Depth 145 cm – With all 8 leaves removed
Dimensions in inches:
Height 2 foot, 7 inches x Width 17 foot, 9 inches x Depth 4 foot, 9 inches – Fully Extended
Height 2 foot, 7 inches x Width 5 foot, 6 inches x Depth 4 foot, 9 inches – With all 8 leaves removed
Yester House
is an early 18th-century mansion near Gifford in East Lothian, Scotland. It was the home of the Hay family, later Marquesses of Tweeddale, from the 15th century until the late 1960s.
Construction of the present house began in 1699, and continued well into the 18th century in a series of building phases. It is now protected as a category A listed building, and the grounds of the house are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens.
Flame Mahogany
Thomas Sheraton – 18th century furniture designer, once characterized mahogany as “best suited to furniture where strength is demanded as well as a wood that works up easily, has a beautiful figure and polishes so well that it is an ornament to any room in which it may be placed.” Matching his words to his work, Sheraton designed much mahogany furniture. The qualities that impressed Sheraton are particularly evident in a distinctive pattern of wood called “flame mahogany.”
The flame figure in the wood is revealed by slicing through the face of the branch at the point where it joins another element of the tree.
Winding Mechanism for extending tables
Winding mechanisms were being used from the early 19th Century.
A man by the name of Samuel Hawkins applied for a patent on a screw expander on June 6th, 1861. Presumably, Mr. Hawkins either died or retired because his business was taken over by a young machinist named Joseph Fitter in 1864.
Joseph Fitter operated a machinist shop where he produced winding mechanisms for extending tables as well as screw expanders for piano stools and other applications at 210 Cheapside, Birmingham England by the name of Britannia Works.
Our reference: A3571