A rare Ashford black marble centre table, Derbyshire, England, circa 1850, attributed to Thomas Woodruff, the top inset with asymmetrical samples of Sicilian Jasper.
Thomas Woodruff was described as ‘Inlayer, and Worker in Marble’, ‘Black Marble Inlayer’ and ‘Black Marble Worker’, and started a business in Bakewell, Derbyshire in 1842; by 1857 he had moved to Buxton. His name had been firmly established in 1851 when, under the patronage of the Prince Consort, he had exhibited two inlaid tables at the Great Exhibition.
Ashford Marble is in fact the hard limestone quarried near Ashford-in-the-Water, Derbyshire; polished to create the jet black lustred finish in the marble workshops. It proved popular as a building material and, as early as 1580, Elizabeth Cavendish commissioned a chimneypiece for Chatsworth. In the 19th century it became very fashionable as a material for both ornamental objects and furniture, and was promoted by William Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, who was inspired by Florentine work in Italy.
