A Victorian marble and Ashford marble inlaid table, mid-19th century

Ashford marble is in fact a type of limestone rather than a marble, which when polished, turns to a deep glossy black. It is produced from only two quarries near Ashford-in-the-Water, Derbyshire.

The material proved popular as a building material and as early as 1580, Bess of Hardwick commissioned a chimney piece for Chatsworth. In the 18th century it was a popular material for ornaments being developed by Henry Watson of Bakewell, but it was not until the 19th century that it really became fashionable as a material for both ornaments and furniture, promoted by William Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire who encouraged this new development after admiring Florentine work in Italy.

Similar tables both said in the manner of Samuel Birley and on tripod bases inspired from Antiquity have been sold, one at Sotheby's, London, 5 March 2008, lot 115 (£38,900) and another at Christie's, London, 19 November 2015, lot 579 (£15,000).