Ormolu Desks and Writing Tables

A superb and unusual English Regency period library centre table, attributed to George Oakley, London, circa 1810. Why we like it Its bold yet elegant spider-leg base definitely makes this magnificent table Stand out from most of its contemporaries. Richly embellished with Fine ormolu mounts and brass inlays, this perfectly proportioned table is preserved in remarkably original condition, with gloriously faded original surfaces. Belonging to a group of furniture of the same distinctive 'spider-leg' pattern, with similar or identical decoration, traditionally associated with the London cabinetmaker George Oakley, this table is the only library table known in existence, while a number of card and sofa tables is recorded. Typically veneered in rosewood, calamander or ebony, and sharing identical or similar ormolu mounts and Boulle inlays in various combinations, these tables are made to the highest quality standard and certainly emanate from the same, undoubtedly London, workshop. A pair of closely related card tables, attributed to George Oakley, with virtually identical decoration is in the Royal collection at Buckingham Palace, London. While it is uncertain how and when the tables entered the Royal Collection, and it is suggested that they might have been acquired by Queen Mary, it is not inconceivable that such examples might have been supplied to the Royal family by George Oakley, as he enjoyed the Royal patronage since as early as 1799 (see below).  A related sofa table, formerly in the collection of Lady Sackville, now at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is illustrated in The Dictionary of English Furniture, vol. III, p. 269, fig. 17. Other examples from this distinctive group of furniture include a rosewood card table with identical mounts and inlays, illustrated in Mallett, Exceptional furniture and works of art, London, 2010, pp. 34-35. Another Calamander sofa table...

Remarkable desk in the Regency style from France. This piece features striking bronze ormolu hardware and trim. The top is covered in a cognac colored leather writing surface, trimme...