Museum Grade George I Cocus Wood Card Table, Circa 1725. England

Object Description

Museum Grade George I Cocus Wood Card Table (Partridge). –

English Circa 1725. The folding top with outset rounded corners and banded in quarter veneered parquetry top above a shaped frieze with hinged folding concertina action to the back legs to hold the top open with dished outset corner coasters and indented counter pockets lined in burgundy baize. The table is raised on lappet carved and turned solid cocus legs terminating on pad feet.

The card-table is veneered with cocus wood, a hard dense wood with dark brown heart and yellow sapwood, often referred to, erroneously, as laburnum. It was imported from the West Indies and was often known as West Indian ebony. It was used between 1660-1740 and in the present instance a section of focus wood has been sawn lengthways to provide a decoratively striped veneer which has been laid in quarters on the table top.

Object Literature

See Bowett, Myths of English Furniture History: Laburnum Wood Furniture’, Antique Collecting, June 1998, pp.22-23) Illustrated in Dictionary of English /Furniture (1954), Vol.3, p. 188, Fig.10.

Object Condition

Good. Wear consistent with age and use.

Object Details