Console table from Croome Court, Worcestershire

Sefferin Alken|Robert Adam

1765 · Carved and painted pine with newly carved swags; marble sheets veneered on a limestone core · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Architect Robert Adam’s favorite carver was Sefferin Alken, a Danish craftsman working in London. Alken strictly followed Adam’s meticulous drawings during his employment, then left after four years to work for a rival designer. Here, we see Adam’s delicate ornament and Alken’s precise carving at their lightest and most kinetic. The painted surfaces evoke the ancient plasterwork that had been newly excavated from Pompeii and Herculaneum, while the marble-veneered tabletop demonstrates an innovation that probably reduced the table’s weight but increased its expense.

Artist

Sefferin Alken|Robert Adam

Date

1765

Medium

Carved and painted pine with newly carved swags; marble sheets veneered on a limestone core

Culture

British

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Fletcher Fund, 1965