​Three tables placed in the Baron’s Hall in Raby Castle are listed in their inventories as “calamander or zebra wood tables.” After studying both woods and comparing them with other furniture of the period, we can conclude that the veneer of these tables is calamander wood. However, looking for information on both woods, confusing them was really common in the early nineteenth century, not just because of their similar appearance but also because they were part of the colonial British exotic wood trade during the same period. These tables are neither listed in the 1842 nor the 1846 castel's inventories, which suggests that perhaps they joined the collection after these dates.

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The nineteenth century was a period of historicism in which, through the archaeological expeditions, various European countries decided to revive styles from their national past or international interests. That was the case of the Gothic revival, in which Britain's middle classes and elites were inspired by their medieval past to reply to its values in their present.[1] This was the source of inspiration for different British designs and architects of that period as A. W. N. Pugin, who argued that “the art and design of a society was a reflection of its morality.”[2] In Raby Castle, we can find three tables ornamented with calamander veneer, two rectangular side tables, and one octagonal library table with four drawers, designed in a Gothic revival style. 

 

In Raby Castle’s Guidebook, the design of this group of tables is attributed to Pugin. Although it cannot be confirmed with certainty, the fact is that the design of these three tables replicates architectural designs of the Gothic style, as we can see in the golden pointed arches that decorate the legs of the tables. These tables are covered by a beautiful calamander veneer, inlaid on the border of the top with a darker wood drawing the outline of a flower design. 

 

The historian Christopher Payne describes this group of tables as a pleasing interpretation of Gothic architecture, “the use of stunning calamander veneer creates a dramatic effect of contrasting colours and is a rare use of an expensive timber. (...) The black and yellow striations of the wood are cleverly contrasted with the applied carved giltwood tracery, complemented by the delicate tracery of marquetry on the top.”[3] Here we can see how the wood is involved in the dramatism and values of the design, adding an elegant and luxurious contrast with the giltwood to these tables. These three gothic revival tables are now placed in the Baron’s Hall complementing the medieval structure of this room. 

 

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[1] Pat Kirkham and Amy F. Ogata, “Europe 1830-1900,” in History of Design. Decorative Arts and Material Culture, 1400-2000, (New York: Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture, and Yale University Press, 2013), 422.

[2] Kirkham and Ogata, “Europe 1830-1900,” 422.

[3] Christopher Payne, British Furniture 1820 to 1920: the Luxury Market, (Woodbridge: ACC Art Books, 2023), 47-48.