A REGENCY STYLE BURR OAK, EBONY AND BRASS-INLAID CENTER TABLE

This table is based on a design illustrated as Plate 39 in Thomas Hope’s book Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, published in 1807. It is described as “Top and elevation of a round monopodium or table in mahogany, inlaid with ebony and silver”. The widespread publication enabled many commercial cabinet-makers to create versions of this design. Popularized by Hope, this type of circular table on a pedestal base quickly became a standard form in Regency furniture.

The present table once belonged to Torridon House, situated on the northern shores of Loch Torridon, about 47 miles west of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The construction of Torridon House began in the 1860s but was not completed until 1887. It was originally conceived as a hunting lodge known as Beinn Damph for William King-Noel the first Earl of Lovelace, perhaps best known for his marriage to Ada Lovelace, the only legitimate daughter of the famed poet Lord Byron and mathematician Lady Byron. While the table predates the construction of the house, it is possible that it was brought there by a member of the Lovelace family from another property.