Summary:
• Circa: 1930
• Item: Coffee Table
• Cabinet Maker: Maple & Co.
• Wood: Burr walnut veneer
• Provenance: England, UK
• Style: Queen Anne
• Solid walnut frame
• Floral carved moulding
• Stunning open fretwork carved frieze
• Acanthus leaf knee carvings
• Cabriole legs
• Carved pad feet
• Removable shaped glass top
• Decorative item
• Solid in joint
• Lovely colour & patination
• Original condition
• Free delivery to England, Wales & southern Scotland*
• Free 14 days UK returns policy
Description:
Here is a superb quality antique English Queen Anne style carved burr walnut rectangular coffee table with a glass top, constructed by Maple cabinetmakers, circa 1930, in excellent original condition. The top consists of stunning burr walnut quarter veneers, on a solid walnut frame and legs. The polish to the tabletop is protected by a useful glass sheet panel, which is secured in place by a conspicuous wooden gallery perimeter. The tabletop features a decorative floral carved moulded edge, with a serpentine form, above a shaped frieze, above an exquisite open fretwork carved & shaped frieze on all sides. The table is supported by four prominent cabriole legs, which at the knees, feature elegant acanthus leaf carvings on pad feet, with further carvings.
This coffee table boasts a mellow brown burr walnut colour. It has a fantastic colour and patination; this can only be achieved through age and years of care and cleaning it has received.
This glass top coffee table would look superb in a variety of rooms, specifically the living room. This item would certainly grace any home and is a great investment, as it’s an extremely functional item. So, don’t miss out your chance to own a lovely piece of furniture.
Provenance:
Sir John Blundell Maple (1845-1903) was a furnishing storeowner, perhaps the most successful of all Victorian retail entrepreneurs. He achieved great wealth, became a politician, a horserace breeder and a member of the Prince of Wales’s set, and his emporium in 149 Tottenham Court Road, London, furnished everyone who was anyone in Victorian society.
Maple was born in 1845. His father, John Maple, had come from Horley, Surrey, where he had been apprenticed before opening a small shop there. John Maple senior moved to London, working first as a shop assistant, and then moving to Tottenham Court Road where he set up in business with James Cook. Within a few years the partnership had split and John Maple decided to run the business on his own. He began to succeed with what was at first a very small business, despite a fire and a building collapse. In fact, he was so successful that he was able to afford a good education for his son, John Blundell Maple (Blundell was his wife’s maiden name).
At the age of 16, John Blundell Maple joined his father’s business, which began to take off in ways never before imagined. John Blundell Maple had exceptional business skills and while still a young man was running the company. The British Empire was spreading round the world and Maples seized the opportunity – by the 1880s it was the largest furniture store on the planet. John Blundell Maple’s skills and vision were crucial and the moment was right for expansion.
Maples manufactured their own luxury furniture in a complex eventually so vast that by the 1880s it occupied an area where once stood 200 houses. They were timber importers, and exporters of furniture and fittings to all parts of the world. They used steam power and electricity, had a fleet of horse-drawn vans, depository and showrooms, and employed a vast workforce.
Maples’ market was the middle class and upwards – anyone anywhere who had money. They furnished palaces all over the world, including Tsar Nicholas’s Winter Palace, the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna, all the great hotels, and town and country homes. Maples furnished all prestigious British embassies, even if it meant carrying a grand piano up the Khyber Pass on packhorses.
After the end of World War II and the change in tastes and the manufacturing cost factors, the decline started. In 1980 the furniture maker Warring & Gillow joined with Maple & Co., to become Maple, Waring & Gillow. It subsequently became part of Allied Maples Group Ltd, which includes Allied Carpets. In 1997 it went into administration and was taken over by the retailer Allders (Source: BBC & Wikipedia).
Condition Report:
This glass top coffee table is in excellent original condition. Nominal old use marks to the leading edges and glass but nothing significant considering the age of the item. The removable shaped glass inset top, which protects the table, is also in good condition. The top has been French polished, therefore it’s in excellent condition. There are no missing veneers to the top; the legs are solid, with no breaks. The table is constructed of solid walnut frame with a burr walnut veneer top. The floral carving to the moulding is intact. This item is solid in joint (does not wobble) and ready to use.
Dimensions:
Height = 46.4cm or 18¼” or 1ft 6¼”
Width = 96cm or 37¾” or 3ft 1¾”
Depth = 42.2cm or 16⅝” or 1ft 4⅝”
Terms & Conditions:
Before you purchase this item, please ensure you have read and are in agreement with our Terms & Conditions of Sale. If you have any questions regarding our Terms & Conditions of Sale, please contact us to discuss them, before purchasing this item.
Ref. 35442