A GEORGE IV ORMOLU-MOUNTED AMBOYNA CENTRE TABLE

This table, with its rich amboyna veneers and very well-executed ormolu mounts, can be firmly attributed to the London firm of Morel and Seddon. The partnership of Morel and Seddon was formed shortly after Nicholas Morel's personal selection by George IV to furnish the royal apartments at Windsor Castle in 1826. That same year, Morel was sent to Paris to obtain patterns and drawings for furniture and the French fashion for using 'antique' ornamental reliefs - present on these tables - was swiftly adopted into the designs produced by the Royal cabinet-makers. For further information on the Windsor commission see H. Roberts, For the King’s Pleasure, London, 2001. The lion heads and flower-head roundels of the present table can also be found throughout the furniture at Windsor. For example, the palmette mounts to the base of the trestle supports are nearly identical to those found on an elm and giltwood wash stand (account nos. 887 and 927) (ibid, p. 317, fig. 397) made for a suite of bedrooms at Windsor (room nos. 227-231). The motif of stylised laurel leaves which flank a central roundel (found on the stretcher of the present table) can be found on many pieces at Windsor, including on an ormolu-mounted ebony door (account no. 222) (ibid, p. 135, fig. 157).