A CHINESE EXPORT ROSEWOOD SOFA TABLE

Whilst descriptions of furniture in the inventories of Longwood House, St. Helena, in general prohibit a firm identification of this writing-table, there were at least nine writing-tables recorded at Longwood. It is interesting to note that at this time furniture of English design was being made by Chinese carpenters who were resident on St. Helena. For example, in May 1818 a fauteuil de malade was created by a Chinese carpenter from a design by Andrew Darling, who worked for the cabinet-maker George Bullock, and was delivered to Longwood (M. Levy, 'Napoleon in Exile: The Houses and Furniture supplied by the British Government for the Emperor and his Entourage on St. Helena', Furniture History, 1998, p. 36). Furthermore, Chinese hardwood chairs were being ordered directly from China for Longwood, although these have yet to be traced, and Chinese bamboo chairs were amongst the furnishings which returned to Europe on the ship, the Camel, immediately after Napoleon's death (ibid., p. 48, p. 88 f/n 196).