Writing table
attributed to John McLean & Son
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1790
Materials
Rosewood, satinwood, brass, cedar, oak.
Measurements
73 x 124.5 x 79 cm
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Kingston Lacy Estate, Dorset
NT 1254681
Summary
A rosewood, satinwood cross banded and brass mounted writing table, attributed to John McLean & Son (London fl.1770-c.1815) circa 1790.The rectangular top with re-entrant corners and an applied brass edge above three true drawers to the front and false drawers to the back and sides, raised on end supports tied by a stretcher and cheval feet with gilt ridged panels and brass castors.
Full description
McLean subscribed to Thomas Sheraton's Cabinet Directory, 1802 and his name also appears in the list of master cabinet makers appended to that volume. In the text Sheraton illustrates a pouch work table (p. 292) commenting ‘The design … was taken from one executed by Mr M'Lean in Mary-le-bone Street, near Tottenham Court Road, who finishes these small articles in the neatest manner’. A group of labeled furniture, some illustrated in Gilbert, Christopher 'Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840' pp. 313-316 displays a distinctive artistic personality that many similar unlabeled items can be confidently attributed to their workshops. The pieces owe much to French influence, not only in their design but in their lavish use of delicate gilt brass mounts. They favoured dark rosewood, sometimes combined with holly stringing and satinwood cross bandings. Sometimes, as in this example, a sparing use of water-gilt enrichment is present on ridged panels. Another distinctive feature of their house-style was the use of a unique repertoire of cast and chased brass mounts, not encountered on other furniture of the period and therefore a valuable aid to attribution. Kingston lacy has a side cabinet also attributable to McLean (NT1254712) there are two other examples in the National Trust Collection at Saltram; a drum table (NT871428) with similar ridged decoration and a games table (NT871334). James Weedon (July 2018)
Provenance
Bequest of the estates of Corfe Castle and Kingston Lacy made to the National Trust by Henry John Ralph Bankes (1902-1981). NT ownership commenced from 19th August 1982
Makers and roles
attributed to John McLean & Son, cabinetmaker
References
Gilbert (1996): Christopher Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700 - 1840 (1996), pg. 313-316 Sheraton, Thomas, 1751-1806 cabinet-maker and upholsterer's drawing-book. In four parts. 1802. Dictionary of British and Irish furniture makers online (1660-1840) FHS 2017 Wills, 1966: Geoffrey Wills. “Some labelled furniture at Saltram.” Furniture History 2 (1966). Redburn, 1978: Simon Redburn. “John McLean and son.” Furniture History 14 (1978): pp.30-37.