Late George IV/early William IV Oak Drum Table (by Gillows)

A very fine late George IV/early William IV oak rent or drum table with the original finely tooled leather to the top c.1830 The table featuring four drawers and four mock drawers above a tripod base with finely carved toes and panelled sections. The toes have foliate carving over a central boss and were probably based on a design drawing by Thomas Chippendale, now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The use of oak became very popular again in the later regency period thanks to the influence of makers such as George Bullock who liked to use native British woods where possible in his designs. The beautifully tooled leather insert to the top of this table is a very rare survivor. The tooling incorporates rope twist designs and guilloché but also the Celtic knot. This raises the possibility that this fine table might have been made in Scotland or Ireland but, equally, it might just have been the choice of a particular English patron with an interest in Celtic decorative arts.