While the auctioneers catalogued the piece as late 19th century, they did refer to a Georgian marble-topped side table sharing the same distinctive design in Burghley House, Lincolnshire. That table is attributed to the Soho firm of Mayhew and Ince who were patronised by the Earl of Exeter for more than 20 years from the mid 1750s.
Another eminent London cabinetmaking partnership of the period, Vile and Cobb of St Martin's Lane, also produced similar tables to Kent-inspired designs.
Cheffin's table, with a number of later modifications including the creation of drawers and a writing slope, was part of a deceased estate near Huntingdon. It was formerly part of the Forbes family collection and housed at Castle Newe, a castellated Aberdeenshiremansion house, built in 1831 and demolished in 1927.
It sold to a telephone buyer.
