About This Object
An unusual pair of chinoiserie giltwood small tables or stands in the manner of Thomas Johnson.
English, 20th century.
Why we like them
Wonderfully sculptural, superbly decorative 18th century 'Chinoiserie meets Rococo' design, with birds perched on naturalistically modelled twigs amid foliage and flowers.
A very chic addition to a classic, eclectic or modern interior; perfect to support candelabra, porcelain or sculpture.
Apparently modelled after an original 18th century example, illustrated in 18th century English Furniture. The Norman Adams Collection, Woodbridge, 1994, pp. 312-313 and exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1962.
This design relates to a pattern published in Thomas Johnson's Collection of Designs, 1758 (pl. 19) which in turn is derived from M. Lock & H. Copland's Chinoiserie design in their New Book of Ornaments, 1752, pl. 2. A pair of tree-trunk tables was sold anonymously, Christie's London , 3 July 1997, lot 90 (£221,500), having been originally supplied to Marcus Beresford, 1st Earl of Tyrone (b. 1694) for Curraghmore, Co. Waterford.
Although related to the designs of Thomas Johnson incorporating the 'Tree of Life' motif, these fanciful tables are highly unusual due to the mixture of their rustic, asymmetrical entwined tree branches upon a rockwork base, and the elegant rococo-scrolled tripod legs.
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