DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1398#0299
PLATE 198.
A TABLE,
BY a. MARTINOTTI & SONS, TURIN.
A MEDAL was awarded by the Jury of Class 30 to Messrs. Martinotti for their large
and important contribution of furniture, from which we have selected an ebony table
inlaid with ivory, mother-of-pearl, and tortoiseshell, after the best style of 17th century Italian
work. It was 4 feet 2 inches in diameter, and the ornament was very judiciously and effec-
tively applied, so as to enrich the surface, without rendering it too confused. The oval medal-
lions of the border contained trophies of musical, poetical, pictorial, and architectural emblems,
inclosed in wreaths of olive cut in ivory, with mother-of-pearl fruit; the external rim of the
table was also agreeably ornamented in the same style, and the tripod pedestal inlaid with
ivory, &c, was bold and massive in design. Messrs. Martinotti exhibited also a buffet of
ebonized nut-wood, decorated with medallion incised portraits of celebrated Italians, a large
imitation buhl wardrobe, a writing-table inlaid with incised ornaments, and numerous other
pieces of great merit.
Ornamented tables, mostly carved in wood, although made use of in the houses of the
great and wealthy during the Middle Ages, were not apparently in general use; the great
table in the hall consisted mostly of strong planks laid upon trestles, which could be taken
away when not required; they were large and solid, since it was not unusual for jongleurs
and minstrels to mount upon them between the courses, to recite verses, sing, distribute
flowers, &o. One of the earliest representations of a table we have met with is in a MS.
Psalter of the 10th century (Harleian Collection) : it is round, with four carved lion-headed
and claw-footed legs. In the MS. Book of Job, 13th century (Vatican Library), is seen
a semicircular table, with the guests seated round the curve, the arc being left open for
attendants. In the MS. Eomance of Alexander (Bodleian Library, Oxford), of the 14th century,
are small oblong tables, one on legs, one on a stand richly perforated with tracery. A fine
circular wood table of the 13th century is preserved in the Chapter-house, Salisbury; and another
of the same period, oblong, with carved supports, is in the Strangers' Hall, Winchester. Two
tables for scribes are portrayed in the stained glass of Notre Dame, Paris; one oblong, with
drawers at the side, and a central book-desk; the other round, with a desk, supported by
a central column as pedestal; and in the MS. Chronicles of Louis XL (Bib. Imp., Paris) is
seen a square table with a single support, circular at base, precisely like many lately in vogue.
In the lGth century, tables were richly ornamented with carving, and numerous fine examples
of this and the succeeding century have come down to us. In the hall at Winchester is
preserved a painted circular table, eighteen feet in diameter, traditionally known as the table
of King Arthur; it is, however, probably of the time of Henry VIII.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the use of carving became less frequent, and the surfaces
of the tables formed the principal point of decoration by means of inlay-work of every kind:
buhl-work, coloured woods, ivory variously stained, mother-of-pearl, &c, were profusely used;
and some extraordinarily elaborate compositions are preserved, the most remarkable, perhaps,
being a large table-top in the Schatzkammer, Munich Palace: it is of wood, and most elabo-
rately inlaid with mosaic-work, buhl, enamel, &c. &c.: it was made at Nuremberg about the
year 1644. With the exception of the Florentine mosaic table-tops, there is little of a decora-
tive character to be found in the works of the early part of the 19th century; but of late years
every old process has been revived with success.
A TABLE,
BY a. MARTINOTTI & SONS, TURIN.
A MEDAL was awarded by the Jury of Class 30 to Messrs. Martinotti for their large
and important contribution of furniture, from which we have selected an ebony table
inlaid with ivory, mother-of-pearl, and tortoiseshell, after the best style of 17th century Italian
work. It was 4 feet 2 inches in diameter, and the ornament was very judiciously and effec-
tively applied, so as to enrich the surface, without rendering it too confused. The oval medal-
lions of the border contained trophies of musical, poetical, pictorial, and architectural emblems,
inclosed in wreaths of olive cut in ivory, with mother-of-pearl fruit; the external rim of the
table was also agreeably ornamented in the same style, and the tripod pedestal inlaid with
ivory, &c, was bold and massive in design. Messrs. Martinotti exhibited also a buffet of
ebonized nut-wood, decorated with medallion incised portraits of celebrated Italians, a large
imitation buhl wardrobe, a writing-table inlaid with incised ornaments, and numerous other
pieces of great merit.
Ornamented tables, mostly carved in wood, although made use of in the houses of the
great and wealthy during the Middle Ages, were not apparently in general use; the great
table in the hall consisted mostly of strong planks laid upon trestles, which could be taken
away when not required; they were large and solid, since it was not unusual for jongleurs
and minstrels to mount upon them between the courses, to recite verses, sing, distribute
flowers, &o. One of the earliest representations of a table we have met with is in a MS.
Psalter of the 10th century (Harleian Collection) : it is round, with four carved lion-headed
and claw-footed legs. In the MS. Book of Job, 13th century (Vatican Library), is seen
a semicircular table, with the guests seated round the curve, the arc being left open for
attendants. In the MS. Eomance of Alexander (Bodleian Library, Oxford), of the 14th century,
are small oblong tables, one on legs, one on a stand richly perforated with tracery. A fine
circular wood table of the 13th century is preserved in the Chapter-house, Salisbury; and another
of the same period, oblong, with carved supports, is in the Strangers' Hall, Winchester. Two
tables for scribes are portrayed in the stained glass of Notre Dame, Paris; one oblong, with
drawers at the side, and a central book-desk; the other round, with a desk, supported by
a central column as pedestal; and in the MS. Chronicles of Louis XL (Bib. Imp., Paris) is
seen a square table with a single support, circular at base, precisely like many lately in vogue.
In the lGth century, tables were richly ornamented with carving, and numerous fine examples
of this and the succeeding century have come down to us. In the hall at Winchester is
preserved a painted circular table, eighteen feet in diameter, traditionally known as the table
of King Arthur; it is, however, probably of the time of Henry VIII.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the use of carving became less frequent, and the surfaces
of the tables formed the principal point of decoration by means of inlay-work of every kind:
buhl-work, coloured woods, ivory variously stained, mother-of-pearl, &c, were profusely used;
and some extraordinarily elaborate compositions are preserved, the most remarkable, perhaps,
being a large table-top in the Schatzkammer, Munich Palace: it is of wood, and most elabo-
rately inlaid with mosaic-work, buhl, enamel, &c. &c.: it was made at Nuremberg about the
year 1644. With the exception of the Florentine mosaic table-tops, there is little of a decora-
tive character to be found in the works of the early part of the 19th century; but of late years
every old process has been revived with success.