This gilded and marquetry side table, or pier table, was originally intended to accompany a window-pier in the George III 'Roman' fashion which was popularized during the 1770s by the architectural essays of the Rome-trained court architect Robert Adam (d. 1796). The elliptical 'Roman-medallion' top is bordered with laurelled and palm-flowered sacred urns that recall Adam's 'Etruscan' fashion. The overall design is reminiscent of a commode by the London-trained Dublin cabinet-maker and inlayer William Moore, which was supplied to the 3rd Duke of Portland in 1782 (see: The Knight of Glin and James Peill, Irish Furniture, New Haven and London, 2007, p. 163, fig. 220).
A nearly identical pair of tables, also formerly with Stair & Company were sold from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Max M. Fisher, Sotheby's, New York, 21-22 April 1995, lot 260.