A 'ROYAL' GEORGE IV TUNBRIDGE WARE WRITING AND WORK TABLE

A 'ROYAL' GEORGE IV TUNBRIDGE WARE WRITING AND WORK TABLEBY WILLIAM FENNER, C.1827 the rounded rectangular hinged top with a central specimen wood geometric panel inside a broad kingwood band and a specimen wood dog tooth border, enclosing a tooled leather writing surface on a ratchet support, a pen rest and three open compartments to one side, the frieze with a dog tooth band and a single drawer to each side, both with fitted interiors, above a pleated silk lined basket, on a kingwood support, a pair of turned columns flanking an urn on a canted rectangular platform, the four sabre legs with brass lion paw feet and castors, stamped VR BP 1866 to the underside of the platform 83.5cm high, 61cm wide, 48cm deep Provenance Bonhams, 1985 where bought by MS Rau Antiques. Dr Ronald and Krista Reed Collection. Catalogue Note Between 1822 and 1835 the Duchess of Kent, with her young daughter, Princess Victoria, stayed in Tunbridge Wells on five separate occasions. In 1826 a group of prominent citizens of the town decided to mark these visits by making a presentation to Princess Victoria of a Tunbridge Ware combined work and writing table. To this end, 25 guineas was raised by public subscription to fund the making of a distinctively and richly decorated item of Tunbridge Ware. A number of makers were eager to take on this commission, with William Fenner, whose family activity in the field of Tunbridge Ware dated from the 1780’s, finally being selected for the task. In 1827 Princess Victoria and her mother stayed at Calverley House on Mount Pleasant and before the presentation was made to the eight-year-old Princess, the table was put on show to the inhabitants of the town. A contemporary description of the table describes it as: “formed with King-wood, beautifully veneered with party-coloured woods from every part of the globe. It was lined with gold tufted satin, and comprised a complete writing and reading desk, covered with purple embossed velvet, fitted up with cut glasses mounted in massive silver. A side drawer exhibited a complete work-box, with appropriate instruments of richly chased silver; the reels, runners, etc being of sandal wood, and the silk winders fine specimens of native and foreign woods; the whole lined throughout with gold-coloured embossed satin. A drawer on the opposite side was furnished with a drawing box, comprising the necessary colours, pencils, pallet, sandal-wood rulers etc. from the lower part of the top a work-box of rich gold-coloured silk, appropriately ornamented, fell in graceful folds. The whole supported by a finely-worked tripod of solid King-wood: and altogether it was considered an unique specimen of the taste and ingenuity of Tunbridge-ware manufacturers”. Such was its renown that it was still being described in Colbran’s New Guide for Tunbridge Wells in 1840. From 1832 Princess Victoria kept a journal, with daily entries (except for times such as childbirth!). This journal was made available online to the public at the time of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and has proved a useful resource. Visits of the Royal party to Tunbridge Wells in 1834 and 1835 are recorded by the Princess and demonstrate their interest in Tunbridge Ware with visits to Tunbridge Ware shops, where they made several purchases. Once Victoria became Queen only one more visit to Tunbridge Wells was made in 1849. Accompanied by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria made her first ever train journey on 23rd June to visit Adelaide, the Queen Dowager, who was staying at the Calverley Hotel. Although only visiting the town for a few hours the Queen “stopped at the Tunbridge Ware shop, got out there, and I bought some of their pretty things”. This would have been Edmund Nye’s workshop on Mount Ephraim. Towards the end of his life, Prince Albert started an inventory of the Buckingham Palace furnishings. The impressed mark ‘VR BP 1866’ on the base of the table indicates that it was added to the inventory in 1866.