A GEORGE III FIDDLEBACK MAHOGANY WRITING-TABLE

This fine writing-table is designed in the French taste, a style which emerged in England in the 1750s. Due to the use of mahogany, as opposed to softer timbers such as beech or walnut, the English interpretation of the carved cabriole form was invariably accomplished in finer detail than French examples. This mastery of carving is evident in the crisp detail of the pendant husks and foliate scrolls found on the legs of the present table, as well as the fine elliptical chain carving to the lower edges of the apron. The prominent use of the distinctive chequered stringing and the ebonised moulding are some of the many features that have been identified as characteristic of the Golden Square firm of Mayhew and Ince, and are especially typical of the firm's work in the 1760s.