Height: 30.31 in (77 cm)
Width: 20.08 in (51 cm)
Depth: 31.10 in (79 cm)
The stamped ‘E.G.’ on the underside of the side table almost certainly refers to the cabinetmaker Elizabeth Gumley (1647-1751), who was part of a renowned family of cabinetmakers in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. She worked in partnership with her husband, Peter (1674-1702), and son, John (1691-1727), producing tables, chests, japanned cabinets, and with a particular speciality in looking glasses. Dudley Ryder, a law student, commented on the Gumley’s impressive workshop in 1715 saying, ‘Went into the glass warehouse over the New Exchange. There is indeed a noble collection of looking glasses, the finest I believe in Europe.’ Their premises were at the Exeter Exchange in the Strand, in London, at the corner of Norfolk Street.
The Gumleys collaborated with the cabinetmaker James Moore in their commissions for the Royal family, including the magnificent pair of gilt gesso side tables and candlestands supplied to Hampton Court. Moore carried out commissions for a number of other prominent patrons, including the Duchess of Marlborough, the Duchess of Buccleuch, the Duke of Montagu, and the Earl of Burlington, some of which almost certainly were carried out in partnership with the Gumley firm.
The centre table:
Mallett Annual Catalogue