This demi-lune table was said to have been purchased by Horatio Nelson (1758-1805) during his time spent in Naples following the Battle of the Nile (1798). It was subsequently used to furnish Merton, the small estate where he lived very briefly with his mistress Emma Hamilton and their daughter, Horatia, before his death at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. The table is veneered with satinwood and, typical of late 18th-century Italian furniture, is painted with neo-classical motifs including roundels with classical busts, festoons of flowers and grotesque designs.