A FINE MALTESE PIETRA DURA AND SPECIMEN MARBLE ARMORIAL TABLE TOP

A FINE MALTESE PIETRA DURA AND SPECIMEN MARBLE ARMORIAL TABLE TOP

BY JOSEPH DARMANIN, C.1825-36, THE IRISH BASE BY ROBERT STRAHAN, C.1837-40

of shaped circular form inlaid in various marbles with the arms of General Robert Edward King, 1st Viscount Lorton of Boyle (1773-1854) on a yellow marble ground containing fossils, the underside with an applied paper label inscribed 'J. Darmanin & Sons/Marble Workers/ Monumental & Mosaic Slabs/and other ornamental work/Strada Levante No 45/Malta', set into an Irish, carved rosewood base with gently scrolling foliate decoration to the rim, on a scrolling tripod base carved with floral swags, stamped 'I 906 / Strahan' to the frame, the underside with an applied paper label inscribed 'Robert Strahan, Cabinet Maker, Upholstered, Auctioneer & Undertaker, 24 Henry Street'

top: 90cm diameter

overall: 74cm high, 97cm diameter

Provenance

General Robert Edward King, 1st Viscount Lorton of Boyle (1773-1854), the Billiard Room at Rockingham House (Gurr Johns Inventory 1914 p.40)

Sir Cecil Stafford-King-Harman

Lady Dunn

By descent, to the current owner

Catalogue Note

Viscount Lorton commissioned leading architect John Nash to design and supervise the construction of Rockingham House, County Roscommon, Ireland in the early 1800s. The first drafts of the plans arrived in 1809 and, after a few amendments, construction started in June 1810. However, Nash was dismissed in October 1811 and responsibility for overseeing the completion of the work fell to the clerk of works, John Lynn. Lynn's final bill for the decoration of the house was submitted in 1817 and brought the total cost of the house to over £52,000 - the equivalent of around £5 million today. Over £5,700 (or £540,000 in today's money) of this was on furniture alone. Despite Nash's dismissal, the finished house was considered by many to be his finest classical house in Ireland.

The lot being offered arrived at some point in the next ten-fifteen years and there is some debate as to whether this table dates from 1825 or 1836, which were the two years in which Lord Lorton undertook European 'Grand Tours', as many of the family records were destroyed in two fires. The first occurred in April 1867, after which the house was fully restored, and the second in 1957, after which it was demolished. However, judging by the style of the rosewood base, the latter date seems more likely, after which it primarily resided in the Billiard Room.

Giuseppe Darmanin established his business in the early 19th century and one assumes would have changed the company's name to include '& Sons' when his eldest sons joined the firm in the late 1820's or early 1830's. He used the anglicised Joseph (J) Darmanin to cater for the stready flow of British Grand Tourists heading to North Africa, the Levant and India. By 1851, the firm's reputation was so well established that they represented Malta at the Great Exhibition where they were awarded an 'Honourable Mention' in the judges report for the excellence of their workmanship. Examples of the firms work have subsequently featured in many major collections including the Gilbert Collection, the Royal Collection and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

For other examples of work appearing on the market that are recognised as being by Darmanin, see Sotheby's, London, 26th November, 2003, lot 123 for a pair of tops with the coat of arms of Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, purchased by Ronald Phillips Ltd, London,also Sotheby's, 8th July 2008, Lot 365 for a table top with the coat of arms of Horatio Webb, Sotheby's New York, 16th October 2008, lot 58 for a table top with the arms of the Baker Family of Tipperary, Ireland and Adam & Son, Co Meath, 6th October 2009, lot 64 for a pair of tables en suite to the current table being offered.

Literature

K. Hay, Furniture History Society, 2010, Volume XLVI, pp.157-185, Mosaic Marble Tables by J. Darmanin & Sons of Malta.