Console table
possibly Benjamin Goodison (c.1700 - 1767)
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1740
Materials
Painted deal, marble
Measurements
90.7 x 91.5 x 56.1 cm
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Stourhead, Wiltshire
NT 731596.2
Summary
One of a pair of later painted deal and marble console tables, the design in the manner of William Kent (1685-1748), possibly made by Benjamin Goodison (about 1700-1767) English, circa 1740. The marble top above a moulded leaf carved frieze with C scrolled acanthus carved end brackets joining a breakfront plinth, a model of a fox sits in the centre of the plinth with an oak leaf and acorn garland held in its mouth. Decoration refreshed.
Full description
The Longford Table in the V&A's collection (W.3:1,2-1953) is certainly similar in its form and design, probably made in the London workshops of Benjamin Goodison and commissioned by Sir Jacob Bouverie (1694-1761) for Longford Castle, Wiltshire. A number of tables with fox supporters are known in private collections. Another was illustrated in Frank Lumb: an appreciation from his many friends (privately printed, October 1993, perhaps in conjunction with the Harrogate Antiques Fair), p. 26. It was purchased in Scarborough from a local antique dealer and subsequently sold at the Grosvenor House Fair. Another pair of pier tables with foxes is at Firle Place, Sussex . In the 1742 Stourhead inventory the tables were listed in the Picture Room, and in an 1838 inventory in the Dining Room. They are discussed in Dudley Dodd, 'The 1742 Inventory of Stourhead: Contemplating a Transient House', Furniture History, vol. LIII, pp. 51-90. illustrated as fig. 11, p. 63. See also: Wick, Christopher 'Western Furniture 1350 - Present Day' London, V&A 1996. James Weedon (April 2018)
Provenance
Possibly designed by William Kent and made by Benjamin Goodison. In the 1742 Stourhead inventory the tables were listed in the Picture Room, and in an 1838 inventory in the Dining Room. Given to the National Trust along with Stourhead House, its grounds, and the rest of the contents by Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare, 6th Bt (1865 – 1947) in 1946.
Makers and roles
possibly Benjamin Goodison (c.1700 - 1767) , furniture maker manner of William Kent (Bridlington 1685 - London 1748), designer
References
Wilk, Christopher 'Western Furniture 1350 - Present Day' 1996