AN IMPORTANT PAIR OF REGENCE WROUGHT IRON AND GILT CONSOLE T...

Estimate

£20,000 - £30,000

AN IMPORTANT PAIR OF REGENCE WROUGHT IRON AND GILT CONSOLE TABLES

in the manner of Guillaume Cressart, with rectangular Sicilian Jasper-veneered marble tops, the front of each table with a central heart-shaped panel containing entwined “L's” flanked by masks, leafy scrollwork and fronds, the sides with conforming decoration incorporating stylised flowerheads amidst scrollwork, the bases basically circa 1720 and adapted, 95cm high x 218.5cm wide x 67cm deep

Provenance: Almost certainly acquired by Hugh Lowther, the 5th Earl of Lonsdale for his mansion on Carlton House Terrace, LondonSubsequently acquired by Sir Robert Cooke, MP, for Athelhampton House, Dorchester, Dorset.Note: These outstanding console tables constructed from early 18th century elements may be compared to the rampe d'escalier installed on the main staircase of Hertford House by Sir Richard Wallace in 1874. This balustrade was originally in the Hôtel de Nevers in Paris, the home of the proposed Banque Royale, acquired by the Scottish entrepreneur and financier, John Law, in 1719. The interlaced “L”s on the Hertford House staircase are similar to those on the present lot and may represent the emblem of Louis XV. The balustrade was much altered for its insertion into Hertford House but, like these remarkable console tables, it remains one of the finest examples of French iron and brasswork to have survived from the Regence period (1715-23).The wrought iron elements of these tables may be attributed to Guillaume Cressart, a notable iron worker, who has also been proposed as the maker of the rampe d'escalier at Hertford House.To underline the quality of the present tables, they may also be compared to a principal rampe d'escalier in the Palace of Versailles.