The museum's collections of art created on the European continent encompass artistic styles across the time line of history, from the ancient world to the Middle Ages, and the Early Modern era to the 21st century.
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English
Console Table (one of a pair)
c. 1805
Red pine gilding, travertine marble, plaster, and iron
34 x 56 x 30 inches
The Rienzi Collection
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harris Masterson III
More flamboyant than functional, console tables usually were made in pairs to anchor grand rooms in well-appointed 18th-century houses. Console tables were often placed between windows, with mirrors hung above them.
This gilded console table is attributed to the London firm of William Marsh and Thomas Tatham, who produced furniture for an illustrious clientele in the 18th century that included the Prince of Wales. The dolphins that form the base were borrowed from antiquity and are in the Regency style, an extension of Neoclassicism. This pair of tables was probably made for the 1st Duke of Sutherland.