Royal Interest: A George IV amboyna, parcel gilt and gilt bronze mounted writing table by Morel & Seddon for Windsor Castle

Footnotes

Provenance:
Supplied to George IV for Room 243, Windsor Castle, July 1828. Subsequently moved to Rooms 235/236 as recorded in the inventory of 1866. Removed from Windsor Castle at some point after 1866. Until recent times the table remained untraced.

Literature:
H.Roberts, For the King's Pleasure, Royal Collection Enterprises Ltd, London, 2001, p.356.

Morel and Seddon's partnership was primarily formed to carry out the Windsor Castle commission, Nicholas Morel having been chosen by the King as the furniture maker in charge of re-furnishing the Castle. Morel was in charge of the major artistic decisions and George Seddon III's extensive workshops provided experienced draughtsmen managers and skilled workmen, Seddon himself also running the business side of the project. A series of seventy drawings showing the proposed schemes of decoration in many cases bear the King's annotations and approval, these drawings were sold Sotheby's, London 9 April 1970.

The furniture designed for George IV displays the extensive use of figured rosewood veneers and satinwood, birch and amboyna, both in the solid and as decorative veneers. Many of the carved elements and mouldings were oil gilded.

The table offered here is listed under Room 243 in Morel & Seddon's itemised Account Book, which was delivered to the Lord Chamberlain's Office on 23 March 1830, reproduced in Hugh Roberts' publication, p.357:

651 1137 To an occasional table of fine amboyna wood highly polished, with ormoulu taurus moulding on the edge, the frieze containing a drawer, supported by 4 columns, enriched with carved foliage, capitals, bases, & collars gilt in mat and burnished gold, resting on a continued plinth forming a footrail with stuffed panel covered with the old crimson velvet, and terminating with highly chased ormoulu scroll and foliage feet and improved castors, [Charged with No.1119]

Followed by an account for its own cover:

1532 1138 To a cover for do of embossed crimson leather.

The table was originally part of a group of bedroom furniture (Ibid.p.356), the round table listed below and invoiced together with the above lot is illustrated in fig. 441 and clearly matches. Other furniture in amboyna also listed below and invoiced together can be seen illustrated in figs. 442-445.

638 1119
1301

To a large Arabian couch bedstead of fine amboyna wood highly polished with panelled & moulded rails curved sides and ends, with carved double scroll & husk centres, foilage trusses &c. supported by panelled pilasters, at the head and foot with carved capitals, bases and foliage rosettes, the head board containing a thickly stuffed panel in fine canvas, surmounted by a frieze and enriched cornice, and a large double scroll ornament on the top, with continued foilage wreaths &c, the whole of the carved enrichments double gilt in the best manner in mat and burnished gold, a framed lath bottom to receive the bedding, and strong wheel castors, afterwards adding a stuffed footboard, framed with amboyna wood to correspond.

2694- -
[N.B. This Charge includes
A Cabinet No.1094
A Canopy 1120
A Cabinet 1131
A Do. 1132
An occasional table 1137
A round table 1139
A dressing table 1145
2 pedestals 1150
A Clothes horse 1159
A cornice 1116]


Room 243 formed part of a suite of rooms (241-6) which consisted of a sitting-room, two bedrooms and two closets. Most of the furniture was carried out by Morel & Seddon in the latest classical style, using satinwood, purplewood and gilt enrichments for the Sitting Room (Room 242), amboyna for the main bedroom (Room 243) and mahogany for the smaller bedroom (Room 244).
Roberts notes that Room 243 had an unusually large complement of furniture, but by 1830 almost half the pieces had moved elsewhere, as in this example which moved to Room 235/6 by 1866.