Gillows George III Cuban Mahogany Banquet Table

Gillows, superb English George III D-end banquet table, Cuban…
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Gillows, superb English George III D-end banquet table, Cuban mahogany with four extension leaves, recessed aprons to the ends, supported on eight finely turned and tapered, reeded legs each terminating in original brass castors, circa 1820, 72.5 cm high, 352 cm wide (extended), 157 cm deep. Note: Similar table illustrated on page 256, 'The London Furniture Makers', 1660-1840 by Sir Ambrose Heal [Dover Publications 1953-1972].

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  • George Iii - George III (1738 - 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 to 1820.
  • Mahogany - Mahogany is a dense, close grained red-coloured timber from the West Indies and Central America. It was first imported into Europe in the the early 18th century and its use continued through the 19th century. It was popular for furniture making because of its strength, the wide boards available, the distinctive grain on some boards, termed flame mahogany and the rich warm colour of the timber when it was polished.. The "flame" was produced where a limb grew out from the trunk of the tree, and this timber was usually sliced into veneers for feature panels on doors, backs and cornices.

    Some terms used to describe mahogany relate to the country from which it originally came, such as "Cuban" mahogany, "Honduras" mahogany etc. However unless the wood has been tested the names assigned are more a selling feature, rather than a true indication of the timber's origin.
  • Reeding - A series of parallel, raised convex mouldings or bands, in section resembling a series of the letter 'm'. The opposite form of fluting, with which it is sometimes combined. Reeding is commonly found on chair legs, either turned or straight, on the arms and backs of chairs and couches and around table edges in the Neoclassical or Classical Revival manner. Reeding was also used as a form of decoration during the Edwardian period, but it is usually much shallower and evidently machine made.
  • Heal & Co. - Heal & Co. was established in London 1810 as a feather dressing factory by John Harris Heal, and in 1818 opened a store in Tottenham Court Road trading as general furnishers.

    The business expanded and by the time John Harris Heal's great grandson, Ambrose Heal (1872-1959) joined in 1893, it was one of the largest stores in London.

    Ambrose Heal published a catalogue entitled 'Heal's Plain Oak Furniture' in 1898 displaying oak furniture in a cheaper Arts & Crafts style enhanced by ebony and pewter decoration with the oak sometimes darkened by smoking.

    The business stayed with the family until 1983 when it was purchased by designer and businessman Sir Terence Conran, and became part of the Storehouse Group. The recession in the late 1980s led to a management buyout which revitalised the company. There was a further change in ownership in 2001 when the business was acquired by Wittington Investments Limited, Heals is still trading from Totenham Court Road at the present time.

    The best known member of the Heal family is Ambrose Heal (1872-1959) who was an important patron of the Arts & Crafts movement.

    He joined the firm in 1893 and extended its business to include the full range of interior furnishings. he favoured simple well designed furniture that appealed to the emerging middle classes.

    He supported upcoming Arts & Crafts designers and co-founded the Design & Industries Association in 1915, which campaigned for "Fitness for Purpose" in industrial production
  • Castors - Wheels, fitted especially to chair legs, couches, tables and some smaller pieces of furniture, to enable them to be easily moved about. The earliest castors were of brass, with shanks fitting into the base of the leg, and the wheels often made of leather. In the late 18th century, brass 'bucket' or 'cup' castors were introduced, either rounded or square, fitting directly over the end of the leg and held in place with screws. The wheels were generally solid brass. Bucket/cup castors continued in use throughout the 19th century and indeed are still made today. In the later 19th century wheels were sometimes made of wood, china, either white or brown, and sometimes of steel.
  • Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
  • Turning - Any part of a piece of furniture that has been turned and shaped with chisels on a lathe. Turned sections include legs, columns, feet, finials, pedestals, stretchers, spindles etc. There have been many varieties and fashions over the centuries: baluster, melon, barley-sugar, bobbin, cotton-reel, rope-twist, and so on. Split turning implies a turned section that has been cut in half lengthwise and applied to a cabinet front as a false decorative support.

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