Object Description
This is a beautiful antique hand painted Goerge III satinwood demi-lune card table, circa 1800 in date and decorated throughout with hand painted floral, foliate and ribbon-tied flowering swags in the manner of Angelica Kauffman.
The folding top painted with floral swags within a border of coiled ribbon and a banded edge the interior with green baize lined playing surface, the frieze with foliate inlay and similarly banded.
It is raised on four square section tapering legs inlaid with pendant bell flowers.
The quality and attention to detail throughout is second to none.
Condition:
In excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned, polished and waxed in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 74 x Width 94 x Depth 43 – When closed
Height 72 x Width 94 x Depth 85 – Open
Dimensions in inches:
Height 2 foot, 5 inches x Width 3 feet, 1 inch x Depth 1 foot, 5 inches – When closed
Height 2 foot, 4 inches x Width 3 feet, 1 inch x Depth 2 foot, 9 inches – Open
Satinwood
is a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indian or Ceylon satinwood is the yellowish or dark-brown heartwood of Chloroxylon swietenia.
The lustrous, fine-grained, usually figured wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, veneers, and backs of brushes. West Indian satinwood, sometimes called yellow wood, is considered superior. It is the golden yellow, lustrous, even-grained wood found in the Florida Keys and the West Indies.
It has long been valued for furniture. It is also used for musical instruments, veneers, and other purposes. Satinwood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae.
Angelica Kauffman, RA (1741 – 1807)
was a Swiss-born Austrian Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Though born as “Kauffmann”, Kauffman is the preferred spelling of her name in English; it is the form she herself used most in signing her correspondence, documents and paintings.
While Kauffman produced many types of art, she identified herself primarily as a history painter, an unusual designation for a woman artist in the 18th century. History painting, was considered the most elite and lucrative category in academic painting during this time period. Under the direction of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Royal Academy made a strong effort to promote history painting to a native audience who were more interested in commissioning and buying portraits and landscapes.
Despite the popularity that Kauffman enjoyed in British society and her success as an artist, she was disappointed by the relative apathy that the British had towards history painting. Ultimately she left Britain for the continent, where history painting was better established, held in higher esteem and patronized.
The works of Angelica Kauffman have retained their reputation. By 1911, rooms decorated with her work were still to be seen in various quarters. At Hampton Court was a portrait of the duchess of Brunswick; in the National Portrait Gallery, a self-portrait. There were other pictures by her at Paris, at Dresden, in the Hermitage at St Petersburg, in the Alte Pinakothek atMunich, in Kadriorg Palace, Tallinn (Estonia).
Our reference: A1743