A Regency rosewood free standing end support writing table, by Gillows

A Regency rosewood free standing end support writing table, by Gillows, the leather inset rectangular top with a brass gallery above two frieze drawers on one side and two dummy drawers on the other, raised on flat pedestal ends joined by a turned and reeded stretcher, with extremely fine brass paw feet and disguised castors. English, circa 1815.

Provenance

H. Blairman and sons, advertised in Country Life on the 16^th of December 1954

Blairmans were, and are, one of the most interesting and important of all English antique dealers. In particular they were one of a small number of firms that began to appreciate the importance of regency design and were instrumental in encouraging this taste amongst connoisseur collectors in the mid 20^th century.

Footnote: In her definitive oeuvre‘Gillows of Lancaster and London 1730-1840’, Antique Collectors’ Club, Woodbridge, 2008, Susan Stuart describes a suite of similar tables made for John Gladstone in Volume I pages 265-7. A sofa table is described thus – ‘One of the table’s most striking features is the bold brass line inlay round the top side edge, round the flat pedestal ends, drawer fronts, frieze rail, etc, some 69ft (21 metres) at 3d per foot. The brass paw feet are especially fine with tiny hairs and claw nails crisply cast. They were very expensive at 3gns.’ and ‘no expense was spared when the Lancaster firm made John Gladstone’s rosewood and brass line inlaid sofa backgammon table’illustrated in plates 272 and 273. She adds that the ‘gilt star’ knobs were fashionable at this period’.

Read our Gillows Blog here – The Furniture of Gillows and their design records