Side table (in the style of Robert Adam)

This table was originally intended for displaying a silver buffet or food platters ready for the dining table.

The carcase, serpentine in shape, made of pine and veneered in mahogany, is supported on four turned and fluted legs. Four paterae are carved in the frieze that runs along the top. At the centre of the frieze is a carved panel depicting a classically inspired vase and acanthus leaf. The panel was missing until 2001, when the table was conserved and the vase and foliage recurved. Pillars would have once run along the back and sides of the top surface; mahogany inserts fill the gaps

This table would have originally been deeper when it was owned by Margaret Desenfans, but was subsequently cut back to the size it is today. Wooden racks would have run along the back to display the type of silverware currently on display in Gallery XI. The panel at the front of the table was missing until 2001, when it was conserved and the vase and foliage pattern was recarved. The cistern (or wine cooler) mentioned by Margaret Desenfans in her will, would have once been placed under the table, but is unfortunately now lost.

At a time when the French Revolution was rocking Europe, a new sense of style gradually took hold. Artistically speaking, neo-classicism promoted a style, which was both grand and ornate, restrained and serene. The style did not just confine itself to fine art or architecture; furniture design was also affected. Designers of the late eighteenth century, such as Robert Adam (1728 - 92) and James Wyatt (1746-1813), promoted neo-classical ideals in their artistic practice - of which this side table is an excellent example.