Exceptional 19th Century Marquetry Centre Table, Edward Holmes Baldock

A Fine Burl Amboyna and Marquetry Centre Table Attributed to George Blake and Co and Probably Retailed by Edward Holmes Baldock English London made Circa 1845. An exceptional table of wonderful colour, utilising the finest amboyna veneers as a background for a complex pattern of floral marquetry on the stem, feet and table top. The tilt-top with segmented veneers and central floral inlay within an inlaid floral scroll surround and with a conforming inlaid outer border. The triform pedestal base with foliate inlay, carved leaf scroll feet with carved lateral flower head roundels with recessed castors. The basic design for this table comes from the work of the designer Richard Bridgens and was published in 1838 as plate 16 in his Furniture with Candelabra. As can be seen from the image of Bridgens' design, the outer scrolling border on the top of our table is very much in the style of that suggested in the design but the other marquetry is of a sophisticated floral type popularised slightly later, suggesting a date of c.1845 for our table. Marquetry of this sort was a speciality of the Blake family, marquetry experts and associates of the great dealer Edward Holmes Baldock. Baldock was responsible for building some museum quality collections of fine 18th century French furniture during this period for some of his famous aristocratic clients but he also supplied new furniture in the French taste, often incorporating marquetry by the Blake firm. The use of exotic amboyna as the ground for this marquetry is also in keeping with other pieces known to have been supplied by Baldock, for whom it appears only the best was good enough. The sinuous lines of this table and the exotic veneers give the piece a more timeless feel than many other examples from this period and the colour means that it would work equally well in a contemporary interior or alongside pieces of Art Deco furniture as it would in a more traditional room. This is a piece of sublime quality that somehow manages to be both decorative and yet understated and as such is exactly the sort of piece we enjoy sharing with our clients. Edward Holmes Baldock (1777-1845) Born on the 14th May 1777 he established his business in 1805 in Hanway Street which over the years he expanded at this location. He soon was a prominent London furniture dealer to several members of the Royal Family and is responsible for supplying French-fashioned furniture to the 5th Duke of Buccleuch. Edwards Holmes Baldock’s pieces have become a prized possession amongst collectors, museums and dealers alike. The use of a variety of specimen woods can often been seen on attributed and signed tables by Edward Holmes Baldock, reminiscent of those on the present table. Baldock was thought to have worked very closely to with the master of marquetry and inlay of the 19th Century Robert Blake who had workshops adjacent to Baldock’s retail premises. Pieces in public collections with likely links to the Blake Family include a piano in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a writing desk in Goodwood House, a centre table in Syon House, a circular table in Alnwick Castle, an octagonal table in the Leeds City Art Gallery at Temple Newsam House and also signed works in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Baldock's works often imitated the important pieces of 18th-century French furniture that Francophile collectors including George, Prince of Wales, later George IV, William Beckford, Francis Seymour Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertford and George Watson...

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