A Pretty 18thC Continental Black Japanned Work Table c.1790 sub-Religion & Relics and now with a beautiful

and now with a beautiful weathered patination

On the underside of the lid is the charming original label for the machine

The painting is unsigned

Similar to a Baule or a Dan tribe masks this mask was carved with crude tools but even so the work is wonderful and the mask has a happy and warm aura

In the book British and Irish Paintings in Public Collections by Christopher Wright

A Pretty 18thC Continental Black Japanned Work Table c.1790 sub-Religion & Relics and now with a beautifulOrigin: Probably Dutch Flemish Period: Late Eighteenth Century Provenance: Unknown Date: c. 1780 1800 Width: 17 inches Height: 29. 25 inches Depth: 11. 5 inches (all at extremities) The black japanned pine side table with slender legs united by an x shaped stretcher the top having a hinged lid decorated with a hand painted landscape with a figure and large stone urn upon a lake setting, to an oval reserve opening to reveal a compartmentalized