A CARVED PINE EAGLE CONSOLE TABLE18TH CENTURYMounted with a variegated fior di pesco marble top92cm high, 105cm wide, 46cm deepThe use of an eagle as a support for a table was popularised in England by William Kent (1685/6 - 1748), the remarkable designer of furniture, objects and architecture. Kent's designs drew on his decade in Italy from 1709-1719, spent often in the studio of painter Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari. Kent's design for an eagle table support is likely to be derived from designs by Giovanni Giardini, published by Disegni Diversi (1714), this includes in particular an elaborate table which featured an eagle with spread wings in the centre. The earliest recorded tables of this type were made for the Duke of Beaufort, between 1728 and 1733 by the carver John Phillips who was paid £444 9s 6d for work at Badminton House, Gloucestershire.

There are marks, scratches, knocks, chips and abrasions consistent with age and use.The marble top has a semi-matt appearance with some surface scratches and chips including to the lower edge. It is probably a later replacement. The marble is 2.5cm thick.The table base is of sectional construction and some of the joints are visible; there are repairs to the wings along the grain of the timber.Please see the additional photographs as a visual reference of condition.