Highly Interesting Kingwood Regency Work Table with Engraving of the Month of October / Scorpio After Burney

A highly interesting Kingwood regency work table with engraving of the Month of October/Scorpio after Burney. This fine table has the usual work bag hanging from the top, designed to hold partially completed sewing and needlework projects. The piece is finely veneered in high quality kingwood and stands on four turned legs. It retains its original wooden ebonised handles and is further decorated with inlaid stringing and with a contrasting wide satinwood crossbanding on the top which is painted with floral sprigs. Most interesting of all the decorative accents is the central roundel-an engraving pasted to the top inside a painted “beaded” border. The print shows Pomona being drawn in a chariot by Scorpio and is after a design from the signs of the Zodiac by Edward Francis Burney. An impression in the British Museum may be seen here. The print was published in 1808. The choice of a print representing October and Scorpio obviously suggests that the original owner of this piece was born in that month and adds a further layer of interest to the piece. The quality of the table and its stylish features suggest that it may well have originated in the Gillows workshops.