The circular top above a plain frieze on three sabre legs joined by concave stretchers and surmounted by flowerheads, on hoof feet, the underside inscribed with a black ink inventory mark 'D.50' and a fragmentary paper label inscribed 'König Wilhelm'
29¹⁄₂ in. (75 cm.) high; 31³⁄₄ in. (80.5 cm.) diameter

Either part of the dowry of Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia (1788-1819), later Queen of Württemberg, who in 1816 married Crown Prince William of Württemberg, later King William I of Württemberg (1781-1864);
Or presented by Emperor Nicholas I to his daughter Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna (1822-1892), later Queen of Württemberg, who in 1846 married Crown Prince Charles Frederick, later King Charles I of Württemberg (1823-1891).
King Wilhelm II of Württemberg (1848-1921).
Reputedly purchased by the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg from the above.
Thence purchased by Baron von Seld from the above in the third quarter of the 20th century, by whom sold
Sotheby's, London, 7 December 2010, lot 51.

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Lot Essay

This guéridon with exquisite malachite top was probably part of the dowry of Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia (1788-1819), the third daughter of Tsar Paul (1754-1801) and granddaughter of Catherine the Great (1729-1796), who in 1816 married Crown Prince William of Württemberg, later King William I of Württemberg (1781-1864). Russian Grand Duchesses were married in great splendour with extensive dowries and it is known that furniture also formed an essential part of the dowries of Grand Duchesses. According to the Pavlovsk archives, at least two pairs of commodes by Christian Meyer were ordered for the dowries of the Grand Duchesses Maria Pavlovna and Elena Pavlovna, the sisters of Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna. Maria, who married Carl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar (1783-1853) in 1804, arrived in Weimar with her dowry filling 80 carriages – and much of this treasury of Russian decorative art and icons remain in the Weimar Schlossmuseum today.

It is also possible that it was presented by Tsar Nicholas I (1796-1855) to his daughter Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna (1822-1892) on the occasion of her marriage in 1846 to Crown Prince Charles Frederick of Württemberg (1823-1891), later Charles I of Württemberg. Weddings between members of the Russian Imperial family and members of the Royal family of Württemberg had a long-standing tradition and were of significant political importance for the kingdom of Württemberg especially after the re-organisation of Europe following the Congress of Vienna. When William I's second wife Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna died in 1819, the family ties to Russia were strengthened again by the marriage between Crown Prince Charles Frederick and Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna.

After King Charles I and Queen Olga died childless, Charles's agnatic nephew and cousin (his sister's son whose father was also Charles’ and her first cousin) succeeded as King William II of Württemberg (1848-1921). This centre table then passed to the latter – the label to the underside is that of King William II and identical labels can still be found on furniture in the Württemberg Royal collections. In 1918, after the end of the First World War, King William II was deposed from the throne along with the other German rulers. With the abolition of the monarchy, furniture and artworks which were no longer required were sold. The German royal family of the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg reputedly then bought the table from the Württemberg family. Known as the house of Glücksburg for brevity, the family is a branch of the House of Oldenburg that is descended from King Christian III of Denmark. The house of Glücksburg sold the items to the previous owner Baron von Seld in the third quarter of the 20th century.

The Russian vogue for stone-cutting led to the creation of some of the most beautiful works of art and furniture, the most highly prized of which were in malachite. Malachite is a stalagmitic form of copper carbonate and the technique used in the manufacture of objects and furniture in this stone is known as Russian mosaic. The malachite was sawn into very thin slices and then applied to a stone or metal ground, the veins being laid to form elaborate patterns. The whole piece was then highly polished with the joins barely visible. Peterhof is the oldest stone-cutting factory, just a few miles from St. Petersburg, however the huge distances from the mines and quarries meant that it was soon joined by the new Imperial Factory at Ekaterinburg, in the heart of the Ural Mountains. The third most famous factory was Kolyvan, in Western Siberia, which specialised in colossal pieces made from stones extracted from the Altai Mountains. See A. Chenevière, Russian Furniture, The Golden Age 1780-1840 (London, 1988, p. 135, pl. 124) for a centre table of similar design in the Pavlovsk Palace Museum and p. 221, pl. 234 for a related table with an inset malachite top. A Karelian birch circular table of similar design although without malachite inset top was sold at Sotheby’s, London, 15 December 1995, lot 754.