Details
The serpentine crossbanded top with checker-bordered sabicu circles to the front corners over a flute-inlaid frieze and quadruple cluster-column legs headed by pierced fret brackets and on quatrefoil-inset feet, with a label 2D and indecipherable chalk inscription
35 in. (89 cm.) high, 78 in. (190 cm.) wide, 32 in. (82 cm.) deep
Provenance
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 20 November 1992, lot 79.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 18 October 2001, lot 298.
Special notice
Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.
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Lot Essay

This serving table may have been produced by the Wakefield partnership of Richard Wright and Edward Elwick, which flourished between 1747 and 1771. The incorporation of exotic timber in the medallions at the corners of the top is characteristic of their work. Archival records from the partnership note the difficulty of obtaining such woods. Further, an extensive documented commission for the Marquis of Rockingham at Wentworth Woodhouse includes many pieces of rare exotic timbers. Both Wright and Elwick subscribed separately to the first 1754 edition of The Director and the Wentworth commission revealed an adherence to Chippendale's Director design.
Established in 1747 by Richard Wright and Edward Elwick, this prolific partnership '[had] the honour to serve most of the Nobility & Gentry in the West and North Rideing' (G. Beard and C. Gilbert, eds., Dictionary of English Furniture-Makers 1660-1840, Leeds, 1986, pp. 1006-1008). In addition to the Marquis of Rockingham, records indicate that they received patronage from such distinguished clients as Sir Rowland Winn at Nostell Priory, the Duke of Norfolk at Worksop Manor, Viscount Irwin at Temple Newsam House and John Spencer at Cannon Hall.

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