Desk
James Paine the Elder (bap. c.1717 - 1789)
Category
Furniture
Date
1750 - 1755
Materials
Mahogany, oak and deal, brass handles, leather top
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Felbrigg, Norfolk
NT 1398448
Summary
A mahogany pedestal desk, English, circa 1750, made by George Church from a design by James Paine The leather inset top with outset square corners, one side of the desk with four drawers to each pedestal and a cupboard in the kneehole recess. the opposite side with four drawers to the pedestals, each raised on a plinth base. the drawer fronts, corner columns and side panels with applied gothic tracery moldings. With cast brass handles. Reputedly the desk was one of two supplied by George Church in 1753, made to James Paine's design, for which he was paid £21. Very little is know about George Church but it would appear he was a local cabinet maker as other furniture at Felbrigg is listed as being by him. The servant's refectory tables (NT.1398702) were supplied in 1750. The only entry in the Dictionary of English Furniture Makers for Church is related to these library tables.
Provenance
Part of the Windham Collection. The hall and contents were bequeathed to the National Trust in 1969 by Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer (1906-1969)
Makers and roles
James Paine the Elder (bap. c.1717 - 1789), designer George Church, furniture maker