Provenance

The Jacob Frères created a number of tables in this style for Napoleon I. He had versions of the table at the Tuileries, at Compiègne, at Fontainebleau and at Saint-Cloud. It is likely that George IV purchased this table in the belief that it came from Napoleon's collection, although this piece differs slightly from other versions. It was purchased in Paris for George IV by François Benois, the King's pastry chef and agent, in 1820 for £207.

It was delivered to Brighton Pavilion on 15 November 1821 and can been seen in Nash's view of the King's Bedroom c.1824, where it appears to be covered in green baize. In April 1841, it was cleaned and french polished.

Georges Jacob was a prominent Parisian master menuisier, producing carved and painted furniture and upholstery work, becoming a Maître Ebéniste on 4 September 1765. His first business was in the Rue de Cléry from 1767 and then Rue Meslée from 1775 where he employed specialist carvers and gilders. In 1791, the Le Chapelier law removed the guild system and Jacob diversified his workshop to include cabinet-making and mounted bronzes.

Having survived the Revolution, with the assistance of the artist Jacques Louis David, Jacob retired in 1796. He left his workshop to his two sons, Georges II and François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter who traded as Jacob Frères. After the death of Georges II in 1803 Jacob came out of retirement to work with his younger son; the firm worked on a constant supply of furnishings for the Emperor Napoleon trading as Jacob Desmalter et Cie.