A Royal Billiards Table For Sale At Harrods

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Nov 7th 2009 at 4:01PM

This might be one of the most beautiful billiard tables ever created. The black walnut billiard table was commissioned for Queen Victoria's Jubileee Exhibition in Manchester in 1887 and created by Orne & Sons Ltd. The cushion friezes are decorated with ribbons of quotations from Shakespeare, Tennyson, Scott and Byron embellished with over fifty species of wild flowers and native British birds. Beneath the friezes are two long and six short panels depicting numerous countries. Between the panels and above each leg are carved portraits including William of Normandy, Henry I, Henry II, Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Edward II, Edward IV, Elizabeth of York, James I and Charles I.

The matching cupboard is shaped like a door carved with seven panels. The upper four coats of arms show Victoria during the most important stages in her reign. The central horizontal section features Victoria and Albert beside Windsor Castle and the lower section depicts the royal residences of Holyrood and Caernavon. The second section slides open to expose a game with stars and colored counters, which can be rotated to form a scoreboard. The set is at Harrod's for £1 million.

Tags: billiards, billiards table, BilliardsTable, harrods, queen victoria, QueenVictoria