Shortly before 1720, in the rich town and country houses, a very flamboyant style of gilded furniture, still suggestive of foreign taste, became fashionable. Certain characteristics of this type existed during the reigns of Charles II and James II, but the development of gilded furniture which took place through the 18th century, is a very distinctive feature of the time.
Reception rooms were furnished with gilded console tables, sofas, chairs and card tables. The first type of console tables were the bracket form, with marble tops which were placed against the walls or between windows often with the tall mirrors above them. The designs of these tables were generally bold and exaggerated, carved in soft wood and heavily gilded. Sometimes portions of animals, human-headed, formed part of the bracket, and in early tables, an eagle displayed, formed the 
support. Lion masks, shells or contorted faces often features prominently in this period. You will see similar designs portrayed in miniature in the gilt pieces shown in this range.