Operated by raising the three leaves and revolving the top to rest the flaps on the legs, such tables as these are popularly known as ‘envelope’ or ‘handkerchief’ tables.

The model was first patterned in the 1730s in the trade-sheet issued by Holborn cabinet-maker Thomas Potter.¹ It was then later adopted by George William, 6^th Earl of Coventry (1722-1809) when he commissioned a table with a rotating top with leaves invoiced by John Cobb on 3^rd July 1772 as ‘an inlaide Handkerchief table…6 6s’.² 

A rare collector’s piece, this table has a segmented top with the refinements of ovolo-bead moulded edges and re-entrant corners. Comparable examples were formerly in the collections of Peggy and David Rockefeller and Avon Antiques and achieved significant results at auctions.³

¹ C. Gilbert, T. Murdoch, John Channon and Brass-Inlaid Furniture: 1730-1760 (London, 1993), fig. 11

² A. Coleridge, ‘John Cobb’s ‘Handkerchief’ Table’, Furniture History Society (August 2007), p. 1

³ Rockefeller example sold Christie’s, New York, 9 May 2018, lot 279, USD 22,500; the Avon example Christie’s, London, 21 May 2009, lot 240, GBP 16,250