A George III parcel-gilt and painted satinwood pier table, Irish, circa 1785, possibly by George Seddon

Almost certainly acquired by Simon White for Bantry House, Co. Cork and thence by descent.

This piece is in country house condition. The painted decoration on the top is rather worn and chipped and the detail is lacking in places. The top surface would originally have been varnished. The original varnish has either worn off or has been removed over the areas of bare wood but has been left over the painted decoration giving the painted areas a matt bloomed finish.There is some wear to the gilding which appears to have been over gilded in the 19th century. There are some minor losses to mouldings on the top left hand side of the frieze and also at the top of both right and left hand outer legs beneath the carved paterae.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present table relates to a group with very similar painted decoration (often of swags of ribbon-tied flowers against a satinwood reserve) including a pair of pier tables in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Merseyside (see Percy Macquoid, The Leverhulme Art Collections, 1928, vol. III,  No. 377, pl. 94), and a pair of larger tables sold in the Walter Chrysler sale held at Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 6-7 May, 1960, lots 529 and 530.  Another pair sold Sotheby's, New York, 19-20 April 2001, lot 544.

Painted furniture of this type is often associated with the Seddon workshop, founded in the mid-18th century by George Seddon (c. 1727-1801) at Aldergate Street in London.  His firm rapidly grew in size and by 1783 he was employing nearly 'three hundred of the most capital hands' in London.  In 1786 the workshops were visited by Sophie Van La Roche, who recorded in her journal that, 'Some of the department contains nothing but chairs, sofas, stools of every description, some quite simple, others exquisitely carved and made of all varieties of wood ... while others are occupied by writing tables, cupboards, chests of drawers, charmingly fashioned desks, chest both large and small, work- and toilet-tabels of all manner of wood and patterns, from the simplest and cheapest to the most elegant and expensive'. Between 1788 and 1798 George Seddon's son-in-law, Thomas Shackleton joined the firm which then became known as 'Seddon, Sons and Shackleton'. Despite their stature as one of the leading cabinet makers in the latter part of the 18th century, whose clients included the Empress of Russia, the 5th Duke of Bedford, Lord Howard of Audley End and Lord Mansfield of Kenwood House, few pieces survive which can be associated with these commissions.  Two of the largest groups which survive with their original invoices were supplied to D. Tupper of Hauteville House, Guernsey, and R. Clarke of Bridwell House, Dorset, both of which included satinwood seat furniture and tables painted with flowers and peacock feathers.  These distinctive pieces provide recognisable characteristics of Seddon's house style, which bear some similarity to the offered lot.

A semi-circular table with similar painted floral swag decoration on a satinwood ground, forms part of a group of furniture supplied to Lord Howard de Walden by the firm of Chipcase and Lambert between 1768 and 1786 for Audley End, Suffolk (see Ralph Edwards and Percy Macquoid, The Dictionary of English Furniture, 1954 rev. ed., 3 vols., vol. III, p. 300, fig. 75)