Sea Dog Table
The Sea Dog Table is one of the treasures of Hardwick Hall, along with the Eglantine Table. It is an elaborately carved table from around 1570 or 1575, made in Paris, following a design by Jacques Androuet du Cerceau. It is regarded as one of the most important examples of 16th-century furniture in Britain.
Sea Dog Table
Rick Massey · CC BY 2.0
- Period
- 1570
- Region
- United Kingdom
- Related practice
- walnut wood
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wikidata · Q7439869
In this article
Overview
Overview
The table is mainly made of inlaid walnut, with "gilding, fruitwood, tulipwood, and marble" also used. The 'sea dogs' of its name are four fantastical chimera, that support the table top above the stretcher. These have dog's heads, human breasts, front legs with paws, but the lower body of fish. The base rests on tortoises or turtles. The table expands, the leaves otherwise being tucked under the main tabletop, in a style still seen in 20th-century tables. The table is the subject of some legendary anecdotes concerning the Cavendish family. There are doubtful stories that it may have been a possession of Queen Elizabeth I or Mary Queen of Scots.
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- United Kingdom
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Sea Dog Table, revision 1226751722 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.National Trust: Furniture Collection
- 2.The Sea Dog Table. National Trust.
- 3.Montgomery-Massingberd, H., and Sykes, C.S.;Great houses of England & Wales, Laurence King Publishing, 1994, p. 173 (image caption)
References
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reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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