A Chippendale Period Side Table from Ricking Hall, Suffolk

The table has a well patinated top above a serpentine frieze carved with fretwork and standing on square legs with carved bead and reel motif and leaf carved spandrels. A particularly noteworthy feature is the way each leg has an indent to the top, which along with the serpentine shape, adds to the movement and appeal of the table.

Certainly worth noting is that the design of the fretwork is an exact match for the fretwork on a drawing of a sideboard table in Chippendale’s Director. Although there were numerous cabinet makers producing furniture based on his designs, the inclusion on this table of the quirky indent at the top of the leg would indicate that the cabinet maker was capable of far more than just copying Chippendale’s design. With this in mind, consideration should be given to Wright & Elwick as the makers of this table. Known to have subscribed to Chippendale’s Director, they showed themselves to be very capable of interpreting rather than just copying.

PROVENANCE
The Rippinghall Family at Ricking Hall, Suffolk

LITERATURE
Thomas Chippendale, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director, 3rd edition, Pl. LVII