A VICTORIAN DERBYSHIRE INLAID SLATE OCTAGONAL TABLE

This table, of Ashford Black Marble work, is inlaid with a floral wreath in hardstones corresponding to patterns first introduced in 1834 by William Adam (d. 1873), who had taken over the management of the Ashford works and Old Royal Museum, Matlock for Mrs. John Mawe in 1831. The works were under the patronage of the 6th Duke of Devonshire (d. 1858).

Ashford marble is in fact a type of limestone rather than a marble, which when polished turns a deep glossy black. It is produced from only two quarries near Ashford-in-the-Water, Derbyshire. Examples were exhibited in the Great Exhibition of 1851 by Mr. Woodruff, amongst others, who won a Medal for his inlaid tables designed by L. Gruner Esq.