English. Late 17th Century. Of oak. The circular sunken face of the panel centred by a carved sun symbol mask radiating bevelled and shaped rayss and surrounded by applied carved stars. To the outer edge of the circle are set six winged angel masks. All within a moulded square integral frame.

Possibly Sicilian. Circa 1735. Of carved and painted fruitwood. The bow-fronted marble top above the shaped apron carved with foliate c-scrolls against a diaper pattern ground, the lower edge carved with rocaille scrolls, the whole raised on four scrolling cabriole legs each headed by a carved shell and carved with acanthine decoration, each leg with scrolling spur to the front and terminating in a carved foot, the legs joined by a scrolling foliate carved x-shaped stretcher centred by a carved shell.

Probably Brazilian. Circa 1755. Of jacaranda. Each with a shaped pierced back surmounted by a carved rocaille scroll above a shaped splat, the original embossed leather seat depicting a cupid, the seat above the shaped and carved apron, the whole raised on four legs, the front pair of cabriole form terminating in hooved feet, the outswept rear legs, the legs united by a shaped stretcher.

Copenhagen. Circa 1770. Of carved deal retaining their original gilding and bevelled mirror plates. Each rectangular frame with ribbon and reed carved decoration with inner twist mouldings enclosing shaped bevelled divided mirror plates. The elaborately carved crest surmounted by a stylised vase resting on a stepped podium from which issue heavy floral swags tied by a ribbon. The apron with floral festoons fixed to the sides with plain turned bosses.

Of carved pine painted to simulate bronze. Each with a circular top edged with a tongue and dart moulding above a baluster shaped stem, the stem fluted above a collar carved with four lions heads hung with brass rings, the collar above stiff leaf and acanthine carving, the stem on a triform waisted socle carved with acanthus leaves, the whole raised on four paw feet and a triform marbleised plinth base.

Of gilt and white painted limewood. Each with candleholder and drip pan supported by carved acanthus leaves above a fluted tapering column centred by a bulb carved with stiff leaf decoration, the whole resing on a two tier base, the upper tier white painted with a carved gilt swag, the lower tier gilt and reeded.

Of carved giltwood. Each with rock work drip pan raised on a shaped shaft lapped by foliate decoration and resting on a triform base carved with flowers and scrolled feet.

This pair of globes were designed and constructed around 1830 by Newton and Son, one of the leading manufacturers of globes throughout the 19th century. The firm, founded by John Newton in 1780, won the prize at the Great Exhibition of 1851 for a manuscript globe six feet in diameter. Large floor-standing globes were an item of great luxury that adorned the libraries of some of England's finest homes, such as Binfield, Leigh Park, and Broomwell House. The size of the spheres, and the wooden bases on which they rest, indicate the quality and costliness of the pieces: at twenty-three inches, these globes were probably the largest size made by the company; and their bases are boldly carved from solid walnut, indicating that must have been an important commission.

English. Last Quarter Of The Eighteenth Century. The present pair of candelabra, although almost certainly English, due to their lightness of modeling, gilding technique, and typically English vase-shaped brass candleholders, are based on a French prototype that was introduced in the late 18th century. It is likely that the pair, which are most unusually carved in fine detail from wood, were produced as special commissions, or as maquettes for the plaster sculpture industry that flourished in Britain from the mid-18th through the mid-19th century. The plaster sculpture movement never spread to the Continent, although a very influential set of French statuettes were first produced in plaster for a party at the home of Madame du Berry in 1771. These four figures of Abundance held cornucopias from which issued candlelight.

Continental. The Figures Circa 1730. The Candelabra Nineteenth Century. This pair of figural candelabra uses the intriguing combination of gilt-bronze and carved wood. The delightful figures represent jesters or sprightly figures, dwarfed by the foliate candle arms they sit beneath. It is more traditional for the anthropomorphic shapes in figural candelabra to be incorporated into the design, most often acting as supports for the lighting elements. Because the present figures pre-date the pair of candelabra they adorn, they are allowed to remain passive and decorative rather than functional. A comparable concept is seen on some Louis XV and XVI gilt-bronze candelabra, which sometimes incorporate earlier Chinese figural porcelain. However, the use of carved wood in combination with gilt-bronze is extremely uncommon.

The extremely fine tops to the present tables are geologically interesting, made from lumachella, derived from the Italian word for “snail” (lumaca). The stone is largely composed of marine fossil shells of two kinds, small ovoid gastropods (sea snails) about 1/2-inch long and larger oysters. The latter show up as irregular pale brown fibrous patches or accurate shapes. The slabs have been cut parallel to the natural bedding of the stone and thus represent a section of the sea floor. This stone is a rare sample and its distinctly green ground color suggests that it was mined in Tunisia and is of a type referred to as “lumachella orientale.” The extraordinary bases, with their bold stylized organic legs, united by stretchers bearing tasseled fabric ties, date from around 1700, and have no design precedent in the cannon of Roman baroque furniture. Their highly unusual form would have been well-suited to the extravagance of the Palazzo Colonna where they once stood.

The Mughal term "parchin kari" translates literally to "driven-in", and this technique of pietre dure inlay developed independently in India, at the court of Shah Jahan, the 17th-century Mughal emperor. At this time, architecture was evolving from grounds of red sandstone to white marble, and from relief carving to inlay with semiprecious stones in floral and arabesque motifs. The most famous Mughal building to feature parchin kari is the Taj Mahal, built between 1632 and 1653 by Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The parchi kari of the Taj Mahal employs the same angular and curvilinear lines as the design of this tabletop, and is embellished with similar three- and five-petaled flowers, buds, and leaves. The base of this table was constructed specifically for these precious inlaid panels in the manner of Richard Bridgens, the 19th-century English architect and designer, who furnished residences such as Abbotsford House, home of Sir Walter Scott.