The marquetry and parquetry specimen wood table with a circular top; a central star motif in a circle surrounded by eight specimen woods forming an octagon bordered with plain bands and a wider band containing small floral motifs; the central octagon issuing eight sections depicting a horn of plenty, a floral motif, the crest of the Meik family, flowers in a vase, a rose and thistle spray, a trophy representing music with a guitar and horn, and two panels of geometric patterns, all within a band of twenty-four doves with flowers in their beaks and an outer diamond pattern band, on a carved column and quadriform base with a band of thistles and acorns and geometric, floral and foliate inlays, raised on turned bun feet.

Thomas Coulborn and Sons previously sold a 19th Century Jamaican Inlaid Centre Table (133.5cm diameter), circa 1846-51 by Turnbull to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and a Specimen Wood Box, circa 1840 which was acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and currently has another box by Turnbull with a detailed key of specimen woods.
The imagery used on the table now in Boston compares with that on this table, including oak leaves and acorns, a mixture of heraldic-like shields, geometric patterns and pictorial images.

The crest is of the Meik family of Leidcassie, Scotland and was first registered in 1680. The motto beneath, although indistinct, is ‘Jungor ut implear’ (I am joined that I may be complete). There were several Meiks who had dealings in Jamaica. Some were in the military. Records show that Dr James Meik (Scotland 1758 - 1837 India) was in Jamaica in 1803 (see Hampshire Telegraph, 27 June, 1803) and on the island of St. Vincent in 1806 (see Oracle and the Daily Advertiser, 19th September 1806). It is therefore probable that this branch of the family were the owners of the table.

The rose, shamrock and thistle spray represents the Act of Union of 1801 and is similar to that used on the Act of Union Medal struck that year (see image left). It is interesting to note that the Meik family motto, meaning ‘I am joined that I may be complete’ also ties in with the meaning of this motif.

The cornucopia motif also demonstrates a combination of Jamaican and traditional European imagery as the apples, pears, grapes and other fruits are contained in a large conch shell rather than the traditional horn.

Like the Boston table, some of the designs are excellent in their execution while others are less fine. This demonstrates that the table was made by more than one hand. Ralph Turnbull was unique in applying for funds from the House of Assembly (Jamaica’s Parliament) at the time of emancipation in 1836, to fund sixty apprentices who were former slaves. This great act of charity not only gained him the funds he needed, it also bought him to the attention of the public, and particularly the Governor of Jamaica, the Marquis of Sligo, who subsequently visited and commissioned a games table for his own house in Ireland. Turnbull appears to have gained great prestige from this period that remained with him until his death. This makes the products of Turnbull’s workshop much more culturally significant than their western forms initially suggests.

Jamaican Woods
Whilst it is difficult to identify every species of wood used in this table, other pieces by Turnbull provide valuable information regarding the woods with which he worked. A box by Turnbull owned by Thomas Coulborn and Sons (stock no. 7164) includes a key to thirty Jamaican woods used in constructing the top, including Mahoe, Braziletta, Fiddlewood, Lignum Vitae, Ebony, Yellow Sanders, Date and other palm woods, which are also used in the construction of this table.

Ralph Turnbull (1788 -1865) was the most recognised and important of all the furniture makers of the nineteenth century in Jamaica. He created a distinctive style that used indigenous woods to dramatic effect which has made his work so recognizable and prized. Even in his own lifetime his work was highly desirable. He was probably of Scottish birth, as he practiced as a Scottish Methodist. Where in Scotland and anything else of his early life remains unknown. It is certain he arrived in Kingston, Jamaica in 1815 and set up a furniture business with his brothers, Thomas and Cuthbert. By the mid 1820s he was working alone, as it appears the brothers had quarrelled, and Ralph Turnbull continued on his own until the 1830s when he worked with his brother, Thomas, again. In 1834/5 Ralph’s eldest son joined the business and later in 1844, when Ralph's youngest son, Robert came of age he joined his father, brother and uncle in the family business. Tragically, in the same year, 1844, Ralph Turnbull senior lost both his sons. The company name remained the same, Ralph Turnbull and Sons, until the 1st January 1852 when Ralph Turnbull changed the company name to Turnbull and Lee. William Lee was Ralph Turnbull’s son-in-law by marriage to his daughter, Isabel. By 1852 Turnbull was 64 years old and a very old man, even more so by Jamaican life expectancy standards. Ralph Turnbull died in Kingston, Jamaica in 1865 at the age of 77.

We are grateful to Dr John Cross for his research on Ralph Turnbull, to Dr. Adam Bowett for his earlier research on the specimen wood box which helped with the identification of native Jamaican woods and to Christopher Coles for his work on the Meik family history.