Nostell Priory's 'very neat Pembroke Table' - 1769
workshop of Thomas Chippendale (fl. 1766 - 1771 when operating without a business partner)
Category
Furniture
Date
3 Jul 1769 (invoiced)
Materials
Mahogany, rosewood bandings, satinwood, deal, oak carcase and drawer linings, gilt brass, ebony and ivory
Measurements
71 x 65 x 65 cm
Place of origin
St. Martin's Lane
Order this imageCollection
Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire
NT 959728
Summary
A mahogany, rosewood-banded and inlaid Pembroke games table, London, 1769, supplied by Thomas Chippendale (fl. 1766 - 1771 when operating without a business partner) for Nostell Priory. The rectangular top with twin drop-leaves crossbanded in rosewood and above a cockbeaded end frieze drawer, also crossbanded and fitted with a divided tray inlaid with rosewood and ebony and other timbers as a backgammon board, the other side inlaid as a chessboard. The four square-section legs 'paneled' and with paneled upper blocks and chamfered inner corners. Fitted with brass castors. Containing thirty ebony and ivory draughstmen.
Full description
Thomas Chippendale invoiced for this table, described as 'a very neat Pembroke Table of fine yellow and other woods with a very good Backgammon Table fitted as a drawer and good locks and castors & c...£7 10s 0d', on 3rd July 1769. The next entry refers to 'A Set of Ivory Men & Ivory Boxes & Dies...£1 10s 0d' but only the draughtsmen remain. A folding chess-board at Paxton, a house likewise supplied by Chippendale, retains its full compliment of fittings: the draughtsmen are the same as the ones which survive in this table. This table is a rare example of its kind from the middle of the 18th century, when it is thought that Pembroke tables were used for eating, rather than gaming. It has been written that its 'carefully selected timber, restrained crossbanding and well-cut mouldings reflect Chippendale's unrivalled ability to combine a high technical finish with refined good taste.' (Entry adapted by Megan Wheeler, March 2018)
Provenance
Purchased by Sir Rowland Winn, 5th Baronet, and invoiced on 3rd July 1769. Thence by descent until accepted by HM Treasury in lieu of death duties on the estate of Rowland Winn, 4th Baron Oswald (1916 - 1984), 1986.
Makers and roles
workshop of Thomas Chippendale (fl. 1766 - 1771 when operating without a business partner), cabinetmaker
References
Boynton and Goodison, 1969: Lindsay Boynton and Nicholas Goodison. “The furniture of Thomas Chippendale at Nostell Priory.” Burlington Magazine III June 1969: pp.350-60., p. 355 Boynton and Goodison, 1969: Lindsay Boynton and Nicholas Goodison, 'The furniture of Thomas Chippendale at Nostell Priory', Burlington Magazine III, May 1969: pp. 281-5., Figure 34 Gilbert (1978): Christopher Gilbert, The Life & Work of Thomas Chippendale (1978), 2 volumes., Vol. I, pp. 170 & 189, and Vol. II, Figures 405 & 406 Coleridge, 1968: Anthony Coleridge, Chippendale furniture: the work of Thomas Chippendale and his Contemporaries in the Rococo Taste. London: Faber, 1968., p. 116 and Plate 355 Boynton and Goodison, 1968: Lindsay Boynton, and Nicholas Goodison. “Thomas Chippendale at Nostell Priory.” Furniture History 4 (1968): pp.10-61., p. 52