Aesthetic Movement Red Walnut Side Table

A remarkable 19th century English side table in the Moorish taste in both red cedar wood and sycamore.

This extraordinary table has a double thickness broad sycamore top with a reeded edge that gently over sails the ornate base.

The top has beautiful penwork detailing depicting Apollo, the Greek god of music and poetry and the nine muses who looked up to him. The border of the table top depicts a series of interlocking spiral motifs consistent with traditional Norse or Celtic styles. The table top also features two sections of Fleur-de-Lis symbols. The symbols convey a variety of meanings depending on the context they have been used in. The French used the symbols to convey the divine power of the gods and the right to rule over your subjects, however within the Christian faith the symbol represented the Holy Trinity of the church. It is a regal, meaningful and highly decorative design that deepens further the significance within the context of this table.

The base of the table is made of red cedar with each of the fours sides depicting a pair of Moorish or even gothic intricate carved cutouts. Each of the tables four sides is bolstered by a series of interlocking supports beneath the apron.

Beneath the arrangement of columns and arches is a lower tier supported by two cut out arches and finished on three block feet to either side.

The Victorian era was defined by architectural and design eclecticism, a movement where creators mixed historical periods and global cultures, blending Gothic and Eastern motifs together. This stunning table is testament to such imaginative techniques and aspirations.

This beautiful table rests firmly within both the Aesthetic and also Arts and Crafts movements and is an interpretation of how the Victorians reimagined the past when designing furniture.

The workmanship and imagination used in this table is almost certainly unique and we shall never see another table like this within the collection again.

English, circa 1880.