It is difficult to describe the general style of this remarkable piece, beyond saying that it is Hepplewhite period (c.1770). The butterfly-shaped top is veneered in plum pudding mahogany and the ‘threepenny bits’ in the pudding are the star-shaped motifs in each corner, which have a three-dimensional effect, created by alternating boxwood and ebony half-and-half in each point, rather like the Festival of Britain motif.

The square tapering legs are no less interesting, since each outward-facing facet is inlaid from the hip to the ankle with a large boxwood panel, which is itself inlaid with an ebony and boxwood bullseye at the knee.