A NEAR PAIR OF GEORGE II GILT-GESSO SIDE TABLES

These pier-tables are richly modeled in bas-relief with acanthus flowers framed within a flowered ribbon-scrolled mosaic in the Louis XIV 'antique' manner. Each would originally have accompanied a mirror to form a bedroom apartment pier-set such as the silvered gesso table bearing the arms of Meller supplied by John Belchier (d. 1753) in 1723 for Erddig, Wales (R. Edwards and M. Jourdain, Georgian Cabinet-Makers, London, rev. ed., 1955, p. 136, fig. 31). Among the most celebrated cabinet-makers working in this technique was James Moore (d.1726) of Short's Gardens, St. Giles-in-the-Fields. Similar patterned tops feature on a pair of pier-tables at Blair Castle, Scotland (A. Coleridge, 'William Masters and some early 18th Century furniture at Blair Castle, Scotland,' The Connoisseur, October 1963, p. 78, fig. 2).

Pairs or even near pairs of this form are exceedingly rare. A similar single table was sold Christie's London, 'A Townhouse in Mayfair', 20 November 2008, lot 630 (£34,850, including buyer's premium), and another sold anonymously, 9 December 2010, lot 33 (£25,000, including buyer's premium).