AN EARLY VICTORIAN MAHOGANY EXTENDING DINING TABLE

The superb quality and overall appearance of the present lot is characteristic of the oeuvre of Holland & Sons. The distinctive supports with their carved lotus leaves and fluting relate to the ornamentation found on the supports of a later-dated mahogany and parcel-gilt extension dining table, which was probably commissioned in circa 1860 by Edward Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, for Marlborough House, London. This table passed by descent in the Royal family until sold Christie's, London, 1 October 1959, lot 67, and later Sotheby's, New York, 21 October 2004, lot 28 ($39,000). A further dining table of similar date to the present example although unstamped has an almost identical carved table top suggesting that this too was executed by the firm, sold Sotheby's, London, 10 September 1997, lot 244.
Holland & Sons were among the most distinguished furniture makers of the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries, starting as Taprell & Holland at the beginning of the century, and becoming Holland & Sons in 1843. They supplied furniture to many of the London clubs including the Athenaeum, the Reform Club and the Oxford & Cambridge Club as well as to the Crown at Osborne House, Isle of Wight. In 1851, they took over premises in Mount Street. The firm's archives dating to 1942 when they ceased trading are now preserved in the Victoria & Albert Museum.