A George III Irish mahogany side table, circa 176

A George III Irish mahogany side table, circa 1760, the rectangular top above a shaped frieze with rosettes, and gadrooning and centered by a carved shell, on four cabriole legs carved with acanthus leaves and foliate decoration, on square hairy paw feet, 29.5 inches high, 53 inches wide, 29 inches deep (75cm high, 135cm wide, 74cm deep)Exhibited: 'An Exhibition of Irish 18th century Furniture', Dublin, May 2007 at the Irish Architectural Archive. Footnote: For a related Irish side table see Lot 37 Christies, Glin Castle - A Knight in Ireland, May 2009, bearing similar hipped and rectangular panelled legs and square paw feet. This design relates to early 18th century gilt-gesso tables, such as those supplied to Malahide Castle, Co. Dublin, circa 1740 (see Irish Furniture, p. 97, fig. 126). However, other features such as the large leaves at the top of the legs belong to slightly later in the 18th Century and can be seen on the Trade Card of William Wilkinson of Chequer Lane, Dublin, presumably the same man as William Wilkinson, carver and gilder, recorded in Dublin Directories in Chequer Lane, 1761-1774 (Irish Furniture, endpapers). Scallop shells, the badge of Venus who was drawn to dry land in one after her birth at sea, were one of the most popular Irish decorative motifs.The apron is carved with trailing ivy, sacred to Apollo. Roman acanthus completely wraps the tops of the legs and the square paw feet are both distinctive Irish characteristics. Provenance: By repute from the collection of the late James A.Williams, an antiques dealer and restorer of historic homes. By the end of his career he had saved more than fifty houses in Savannah, the Georgia Coast and South Carolina. He had a passion for authenticity and for saving the original fixtures, He was however possibly better known for his role as the central character in John Berendts non-fiction bestseller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. On the 20th October 2000, Sotheby's in New York auctioned the contents of his home, Mercer House and stated that 'Mercer House became the sumptuous backdrop for Williams's remarkable and highly personal collection that includes furniture from Britain, Grenada and the West Indies; Fabergé and possessions of the Tsars; Chinese export porcelain from the Nanking cargo and important British portraits.'