Toilet table
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1900
Materials
Oak, veneered with purpleheart, tulipwood, kingwood, fruitwood marquetry, gilt bronze mounts, glass and silk
Measurements
70.5 x 42.5 cm
Place of origin
France
Order this imageCollection
Polesden Lacey, Surrey
NT 1245944
Summary
A table de toilette, or dressing table, French, in the Louis XV-style, veneered with purpleheart, kingwood and tulipwood with fruitwood marquetry, and mounted with ormolu. Heart-shaped, the hinged top opening to reveal a heart-shaped mirror (possibly later) and a jewellery compartment lined with silk, above a pair of swinging side compartments released by catches. All-over inlaid with marquetry of sprays of flowers and raised on slender cabriole legs with scrolling foliate feet.
Full description
This type of heart-shaped dressing table was known in 18th century France as either a table de toilette en coeur or – thanks to the unusual compartments which spring from its sides – a toilette en papillon (butterfly). Ébénistes (cabinet-makers) Jean François Oeben (1721-1763) and Charles Topino (1742-1803) working in Paris in the reign of Louis XV popularised the design. Its pretty shape and decorative floral marquetry would have appealed to Margaret Greville’s love of light and feminine furniture made in the French taste. It was originally at 16 Charles Street, Mayfair, her London home, where she entertained lavishly.
Provenance
Date of acquisition not recorded, but originally at 16 Charles Street, Mayfair, Mrs Greville's London home, and bequeathed by Margaret McEwan, The Hon. Mrs Ronald Greville (1863-1942) with Polesden Lacey, to the National Trust, in memory of her father, William McEwan (1827-1913) in 1942. This item found on the probate inventory record for Charles Street chattels at Polesden Lacey, found in the Dining Room, page 15.