A Satinwood Reading and Writing Table with Campaign Features, Possibly Irish, c.1800

A Highly Unusual, Probably Unique, Satinwood Reading and Writing Table with Campaign Features, Possibly Irish, c.1800 Provenance The Grove family, Castle Grove, Donegal and by descent. The rectangular top, veneered in satinwood of the finest quality, operating on a ratchet and concealing a further ratcheted Morocco leather lined writing surface. A concealed button releases secret drawers and compartments for writing materials and hiding away valuables. In the sides of the frieze are pull out candle slides and a large drawer with gilded brass lions’ head and ring handles. The table top attaches to the central column support via a threaded brass screw and beneath the legs, all reinforced with wrought iron plates, is a knopped finial with a hollow centre, allowing the piece to be tied down during transport or for further support. This combination of features is usually found on campaign furniture or furniture designed for travel but the present piece, with its sophisticated satinwood veneers, seems unlikely to have been produced for typical campaign use. The owners of this piece, the Grove family of Castle Grove, Donegal, were a prominent Catholic family and great supporters of Irish independence. This makes it all the more likely that the piece was in fact produced by a local Irish workshop rather than made in England perhaps. The only really comparable tables we have found are a pair of writing tables of similar form, though without the campaign-type construction, that were advertised by Patrick Sandberg Antiques in the early 2000s and had labels on them suggesting that they were retailed in Limerick. The tables sold at Sotheby’s on the 23rd of November 2005. Please see our blog post HERE for more information about this fascinating piece of furniture.