The table was reputedly once owned by General Sir Arthur Paget, later the Marquis of Anglesey, who famously lost a leg at the battle of Waterloo, and this provenance encouraged a US dealer to go one better than his London counterparts, paying £110,000 (plus 15 per cent premium).
Battle of Waterloo table
US interest in famous English aristocrats has often propelled the value of the furniture to unforeseen heights, and at Dreweatt Neate’s Donnington Priory salerooms on March 28 it was the turn of this Regency mahogany and chinoiserie lacquer writing table, estimated at £6000-8000.