Important English Furniture

2
 Important English Furniture 3

2 012 was certainly an exciting year to be British and in London. The Queen's Jubilee
and the Olympics were made all the more poignant by the success of the British
athletes and, of course, who can forget the Queen's daredevil moment with James Bond
and Thomas Heatherwick’s magnificent Olympic flame.

It seems like 2013 has only just begun but we are already three months in. After a
very good year for Apter-Fredericks in 2012, this year started with an outstanding
first quarter and the signs suggest it will continue. Demand for very good pieces of
eighteenth century English furniture continues to be strong.

This year’s brochure has seen a slight change in format. All the information now
appears with each picture but we continue to present all the items in the same clean,
clear and concise manner that we began four years ago. The examples illustrated have
been carefully selected, researched and included to provide a diversity of articles from
Queen Anne to George IV, from walnut to rosewood. We could highlight a number
of the pieces but that would be a shame. We would rather you looked for yourself.
You might even find a surprise or two!

It just remains for us to thank everybody who contributed to producing this brochure
and of course our clients who very kindly make the purchases that allow us to continue
to do something we love and take so much pride in.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Harry Apter & Guy Apter

Front cover: A Gilt-wood Eagle Console Table Attributed to William Bradshaw (see p.108)
Opposite: Detail of one of a Pair of Adam Period Gilt Torcheres (see p.4)
Back cover: Benjamin Vulliamy’s ‘Long Black Marble Clock with Bronze Lions’ Numbered 408 (see p.63)
4
A Pair of Adam Period Gilt Torcheres
The design of these tripod candle-stands
may derive from a considerably earlier
drawing in the V&A, which has been
attributed to Thomas Chippendale. The 1
drawing includes the same basic elements
– three foliate S-scroll uprights ending in
ram-head finials and voluted terminals,
supporting a tray top and raised on a plinth
with splayed legs. The Chippendale design,
however, is for a shorter candle-stand and is
more naturalistic in treatment, so probably
dates from the 1760s. The present stands,
taller, more attenuated and more formal,
reflect the mature taste of Robert Adam,
and may indeed be indebted to a design for
‘a Tripod and Vase for Candles’ published
in The Works in Architecture of Robert and
James Adam in 1773 (Fig. 1). The Adam
2
design, produced for the Earl of Coventry,
also shows a three-branch candelabrum on
top, such as could originally have been used
with the present stands too.
Adam’s design includes a turned central
stem like these candle-stands (in place of
the flaming urn in the Chippendale design),
but it differs in other respects. In particular,
the scrolling uprights taper downwards
rather than upwards and they end in paw
feet rather than volutes. They are raised on a
deep plinth base rather than the splayed legs
of the Chippendale design and the present
candle-stands.
English Circa 1775—80
Height 56¼” 143cm
Diameter 13¾” 35cm
Provenance
Sold at Christie’s London, the property of a
lady, 24 June 1976, lot 114
With Mallett’s in 1977 (advertised in Country
Life, 21 April 1977, Supplement, p. 29)
Acquired for Crichel, Dorset by the Hon. Mrs.
Marten, OBE, D.L. (probably from Mallett,
circa 1982)
Marks
Both stands stamped on the underside of
bottom shelf, respectively, ‘3206’ and ‘3207’
Top panels possibly replaced.
Reference
1
V&A, Museum no. 2609. See Christopher
Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas
Chippendale (1978), Vol. II, fig. 376 (and fig.
377, one of a pair of candlestands executed
from this design, latterly at Denton Hall,
Fig. 1 © Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Yorkshire).
2
The Works in Architecture of Robert and
James Adam (1773), Vol. I, No. I, plate 8.
See Elizabeth White, Pictorial Dictionary
of British 18th Century Furniture Design
(1990), pp. 307, 345.
51666
Important English Furniture 5
6

A Chippendale Period 'Breakfast Table'

Thomas Chippendale used the term Reference

Breakfast Table in 1762, to describe a table 1

T. Chippendale, The Gentleman and Cabinet-
with fretwork sides and shaped under- Maker’s Director, 3rd edn (1762), pl. 53.
tier, which may be compared to this table. 1

Breakfast tables vary widely in form, but 51596

having a pierced gallery makes this example

extremely rare.

English Circa 1765

Width 24" 61cm
Depth 18¼" 46.5cm
Height 27½" 70cm
Important English Furniture 7
8
Important English Furniture 9
10
Previous page:
A George II Period Carved Mahogany Side Table
with a Breccia Rosato Marble Top
This handsome mahogany side table is
stamped with the journeyman’s initials
‘W H’, a stamp that occurs on a number of
chairs that are thought to come from the
workshop of Giles Grendey. Grendey may
well therefore be the maker of this table.
Giles Grendey was an extremely successful
cabinet maker with a substantial business.
By 1731 when fire damaged his workshop
‘an easy chair of such rich and curious
workmanship, that he had refused 500
guineas for it…together with furniture to
the value of £1000 packed for exportation…’
were destroyed. Although few bills from
country houses have surfaced, a number of
his pieces bear one or another of the two
labels he produced and with these and
known commissions it has been possible to
build up a known body of work.
Possibly his best known commission
was for a suite of red japanned furniture
supplied to the Duke of Infantado at the
Castle of Lazcano, Spain. This consisted of
approximately eighty items. Two further
pieces have been discovered in Norway
suggesting that he had an international
business.
Marble replaced.
English Circa 1755
Width 72¾” 185cm
Depth 35½” 90cm
Height 35½” 90cm
PROVENANCE
The Phipps Family Trust
Henry Phipps, Jr. emigrated to the U. S. in
the early part of the nineteenth century and
settled in Pittsburgh. As Andrew Carnegie's
business partner in the Carnegie Steel
Company he became very wealthy and bought
some exceptional pieces including this table.
Literature
F. Lewis Hinkley, Metropolitan Furniture of
the Georgian Years (1988), p. 119. Illustrated
with later mahogany top.
51233
 Important English Furniture 11

Lord Hesketh's
Circular Bookcase
from Easton Neston

In many ways a testament to the value of

books, this bookcase has vertical divisions
that are locked to hold retaining bars in
place to secure the books. Each tier revolves
independently from the others.

A ‘circular movable table’ of this type was

published in Ackermann’s Repository of
Arts in 1810.1 A strikingly similar example
is recorded, bearing the label of cabinet
makers Mack, Williams and Gibton.2
It differs principally in having a tripod
support, where our bookcase has a French-
influenced, fluted and gilded column. This
columnar treatment is reminiscent of the
furniture supplied to Southill, Bedfordshire
for the Whitbread family, much of it to the
design of Henry Holland.3

English Circa 1820

Diameter 27" 68.5cm
Height 4’11½" 150cm

Provenance

Frederick, 2nd Baron Hesketh (1916-1955)

Easton Neston, Northamptonshire.
Sold Sotheby’s House Sale, Easton Neston, 17-
19 May 2005, lot 61.

Reference
1
P. Agius, Ackermann’s Regency Furniture
and Interiors (1984), pp. 48–49, pl. 13.
2
R. Edwards, Dictionary of English Furniture,
revised edn (1954), Vol. I, p. 97, fig. 42.
3
M. Jourdain and R. Edwards, Regency
Furniture 1795-1830, revised edn (1965),
fig.172

50528
12

Two Painted Plaster

Figures of George
II and George III

Modelled wearing blue coats and each with

the Garter Star embroidered onto the coat.
Both figures stand holding a cane.

The plinth of George II with the text

'Published May 8th 1820 by F Hardenberg,
19, Mount Street, London'. The Plinth of
George III with indecipherable text. However
another example, from the collection of
Simon Sainsbury (sold Christie’s, 18th June
2008, lot 146) was engraved ‘L. Gahagan’
(either Lawrence Gahagan or his son Lucius),
so this figure may be by the same maker.

English Circa 1820

George II 12" 28cm
George III 11" 31cm

51716

Opposite:

A George III Satinwood Drum Table

By the 1790s the circular 'drum' library English Circa 1810

table had become extremely popular, and Diameter 39¾" 101cm
numerous examples were produced in a Height 28¼" 72cm
variety of styles and woods. Over the course
of twenty years they changed from having Provenance

simple down-swept legs supporting a 'gun- Private collection, UK

barrel' column to a much heavier form with
brass or gilt metal enrichments. This table 9F264

is an early example, and its lightness is

emphasised by the use of pale satinwood –
which is more unusual for tables of this type
than mahogany or rosewood.
Important English Furniture 13
14
A Rococo Gilt-wood Pier Glass Possibly
by George Cole of Golden Square
This pier glass may have been carved in
the same workshop as a distinctive group
of furniture from St Giles’s House, Dorset,
notably a pair of pier glasses that each have
a similarly idiosyncratic group of sheep in
an open cartouche at the bottom.1 This pair
of mirrors, though rather more lavishly
carved, also has comparable trailing flowers,
C-scrolls and inner vertical sides formed
as vestigial pillars with capitals. A picture-
frame clearly from the same workshop as
the pier mirrors was sold from St Giles’s
House in 1980, together with another less
2
closely related picture-frame and a side-
3
table with a larger cluster of sheep in the
apron cartouche.4 The St Giles’s mirror-
and picture-frames also feature vivacious
pelicans (or imaginary birds) at the upper
corners – although these, like the sheep,
have no armorial significance for the Earls
of Shaftesbury (whose crest and arms chiefly
boast bulls). The sheep motif recurs in a pier
glass of unknown origin, somewhat similar
in composition to the present example
though more densely carved. 5
A similar repertoire of ornament appears
on a pier glass formerly at Hall Barn, near
Beaconsfield but this shows a squirrel in the
apron cartouche, rather than sheep. Neither
6
the maker nor a distinct designer has been
firmly identified for this group of furniture,
although there are evident connections with
designs published in the late 1750s by Thomas
Johnson. The present mirror has elements in
common with all three frame designs in the
first plate of Johnson’s Collection of Designs
(1758), including the console-scrolled sides
(in the left design), the inner vestigial pillars,
and the playful depiction of animals. 7
The squirrel motif recurs in a remarkable
set of pier glasses at Blair Castle, Perthshire,
which were supplied to the Duke of Atholl
by the upholsterer George Cole of Golden
Square in 1761 and 1763.8 It has generally been
assumed that these mirror-frames could not
have been manufactured in Cole’s workshop,
and they have been tentatively attributed to
Johnson himself, again on the analogy of his
Collection of Designs.9 However, they also
relate, and may be indebted, to a design by
Matthias Lock, which is of similar profile
and likewise displays a full-length human
figure in the cresting – a highly unusual and
ambitious treatment.10 This relationship to
the publications of two different designers
is entirely consistent with production in yet
a third London workshop. The reluctance
of historians to credit Cole as the maker
seems to arise chiefly from the fact that little
is known of his career or output. However,
it must be significant that he was also paid
substantial sums for work at Corsham Court,
where the State Bedroom houses a pair of
oval pier glasses – again with squirrels – that
closely correspond to a design by Thomas
Johnson.11 The likelihood is that Cole
supplied the Corsham mirrors too. He may
of course have subcontracted these and the
Blair mirrors to Thomas Johnson, or he may
himself have supervised their production
in his own workshop, taking inspiration
from published designs. If he ran a more
ambitious workshop than has so far been
realised, he is also a candidate for the maker
of the present mirror.
This mirror-frame houses a single, full-
height bevelled glass plate, which may have
been redeployed from an early eighteenth-
Important English Furniture 15
16
century mirror. The re-use of expensive
mirror plates was by no means uncommon
in the eighteenth century, and some frame
designs indeed appear to have been devised
specifically for this purpose. 12
This may
account for the fact that certain designs
for Rococo mirror-frames have strictly
rectilinear inner edges, while others have
scrolled edges like the outer frame. Examples
of both types are often combined by Johnson
on the same plate.
English Circa 1760–65
Height 72” 183cm
Width 36” 91.5cm
Reference
1
A. Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture (1968),
p. 204 and 317.
2
Christie’s London, 19 June 1980, lot ????,
also illustrated on front cover of Christie’s
sale catalogue, Highly Important English
Furniture and Scuplture from St Giles’s
House, Dorset, 26 June 1980. See also M.J.
[Margaret Jourdain], ‘Furniture at St Giles,
Dorset’, Country Life, 23 June 1934, pp. lxvii–
lxx (p. lxviii, fig. 3).
3
Christie’s London, 27 June 1980, lot 139
(framing a seventeenth-century portrait of Lord
Keeper Coventry); also illustrated at the end of
the 26 June 1980 sale catalogue (see note 2).
4
Christie’s London, 26 June 1980 (see note 2), lot
71. Previously used with a different marble top;
see Jourdain, op. cit. (note 2), p. lxx, fig. 5, and
Coleridge, op. cit. (note 1), p. 209 and fig. 365.
5
G. Wills, English Looking Glasses (1965), fig. 86.
6
Sold Christie’s, Hall Barn house
sale, 29 September 1969, lot 28.
This mirror also has birds at the top corners,
but much less finely executed than those in
the St Giles’s frames. These and some other
elements of the carving may be replaced.
7
T. Johnson, Collection of Designs (1758),
plate 1; reissued as One Hundred and Fifty
New Designs (1761), plate 34. See Elizabeth
White, Pictorial Dictionary of British 18th
Century Furniture Design (1990), p. 331.
Animals are similarly treated in Johnson’s
designs for pier tables (op. it. 1758, plate 19;
op. cit. 1761, plate 40; White, op. cit., p. 269).
8
Wills, op. cit. (note 5), p. 93, fig. 78. The first
mirror was supplied by Cole for Dunkeld House
in 1761, the other three for Blair Castle in 1763.
9
Johnson, op. cit. 1758 (note 7), plate 6; op.
cit. 1761 (note 7), plate 211; White, op. cit.
(note 7), p. 332.
10
M. Lock, A New Book of Ornaments
for Looking Glass Frames, 1st ed. c. 1752,
reissued by Robert Sayer in 1769; see White,
op. cit. (note 7), pp. 342–43).
11
J. Cornforth, Early Georgian Interiors
(2004), pp. 199–200, figs 263–64. See Johnson,
op. cit. 1758 (note 7), plate 10; op. cit. 1761
(note 7), plate 55; White, op. cit. (note 7), p.
333. For George Cole see G. Beard and C.
Gilbert (eds), Dictionary of English Furniture
Makers (1986), p. 187.
12
This is especially evident in a manuscript
design by John Linnell for a narrow, arch-
topped mirror, extended with carved
scrolls and swags at either side to rest on a
considerably wider pier table (V&A, Museum
no. E.248-1929).
51711
 Important English Furniture 17

A Regency Blue
John Vase

The urn shaped body with acorn finial above

an ormolu foliate mount to the base and
raised on a circular pedestal with an ormolu
garland around the top rim.

English Circa 1800

Height: 14" 35cm
Diameter: 4.25" 11cm

51770
18
A George I Burr Walnut Armchair
In eighteenth-century bills and inventories
certain chairs are described as ‘dressing
chairs’. In the first quarter of the century,
such chairs appear to have had lower
backs than were otherwise typical for the
period, so as to allow a servant to dress
the occupant’s hair from behind. This low-
backed chair, with widely spaced arms
inviting relaxation, may well have been
made for this purpose. Dressing chairs were
usually made as singletons or in pairs, but
in the very grandest apartments they were
sometimes made in sets of up to six.1
This chair is a particularly fine example,
with an unusual circular seat and cartouche-
shaped back. The legs are of a fashionable
model, carved with a stylized shell on the
knee and a ball-and-claw foot. The burr
veneer on the back, carefully selected for its
figure, has acquired a rich golden colour.
The needlework is contemporary with the
chair but not original to it.
English Circa 1725
Width 24” 61cm
Depth 24” 61cm
Height 35½” 90cm
Literature
Similar Chairs illustrated in R.W. Symonds,
English Furniture From Charles II to George
II (2nd Ed. 1980), p.121, fig.93
H. Cescinsky, The Old World House (1924),
Vol. II, p.18
1
L. Wood, The Upholstered Furniture in the
Lady Lever Art Gallery, 2 vols (2008), Vol. I,
pp. 38–40, figs 47–48.
51653
Important English Furniture 19
20

A Pair of Ormolu-Mounted Satinwood

and Amaranth Side-Tables

Amaranth is more commonly referred to English Circa 1850

in England as purpleheart. When freshly Width 55" 140cm
cut it is bright purple but fortunately the Depth 19" 48.5cm
purpleheart banding on these tables has Height 36" 91.5cm
faded! The tables, which are very good
quality, retain their original ormolu mounts. 51743
Important English Furniture 21
22
Important English Furniture 23
24
Fig. 2 © Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Previous page:
A Pair of George III Papier Mâché Mirrors from Freston
Lodge, Ipswich, possibly by John Linnell
These refined Neo-classical oval pier
glasses relate very closely to a number of
designs by the Berkeley Square cabinet-
maker John Linnell (1729–1796), dating
from the mid-1770s, which variously show
similar fluting, gadrooning, foliage, crossed
palms, and urns (Fig. 2). The resemblance
1
is so close as to warrant at least a tentative
attribution to Linnell. His workshop,
however, was renowned for its carving, and
is not otherwise known to have specialized
in the imitative technique of papier mâché.
This technique, also known as carton pierre,
was seen as a French import and a threat to
British manufactures, which at the same time
carried the seductive caché of Parisian style.
Fig. 3
These conflicting sentiments are embodied English Circa 1775
in the life and work of Thomas Johnson, Height 70" 178cm
one of the principal English proponents of Width 41½" 105.5cm
the French Rococo style, who nevertheless
dedicated his Collection of Designs (1758) to Provenance
Lord Blakeney, Grand President of the Anti- Freston Lodge, Ipswich
Gallican Association, whose stated aim was
‘to oppose the insidious arts of the French Reference
Nation’. Johnson’s frontispiece featured a
2 1
H. Hayward and P. Kirkham, William and
winged putto setting fire to a banner entitled John Linnell, 2 vols (1980), vol. II, figs 194–98
‘French Paper Machee’ (Fig. 3). Linnell 2
Rococo: Art and Design in Hogarth’s
himself maintained strong links with French England, exh. cat., V&A (1984), cat. nos C23
design and designers. If the attribution of and L44.
these mirrors to his workshop is sustained,
they form an important addition to our 51112
knowledge of his repertoire.
 Important English Furniture 25

A Rare George II Mahogany Bottle Carrier

Sometimes known as a 'wine waiter', this Reference

type of bottle carrier seems to have been 1

R. Edwards, Dictionary of English Furniture,
a distinctively Irish form. Intended for
1
revised edn (1954), Vol. III, pp. 374–75,fig. 1.
use in a dining room, it was fitted with
compartments for bottles and with castors to 51693

allow it to be circulated amongst the guests.

Irish Circa 1755

Width 28" 72cm
Depth 16" 41cm
Height 22" 55cm
Internal spaces 5¾” 14.5cm
26
Important English Furniture 27
28

A George III Three Pedestal Dining Table On the table (previous page) are:

A Fine and Rare Set

‘Dinner is one of the most wearisome of and also by a new range of exotic foods, of Four George III Cut
English experiences lasting, as it does four sometimes imported at great expense.
Glass Candelabra
or five hours.’ So wrote François de La
Rochefoucauld (1613–1680). It was little The table has original brass box castors and
These candelabra are Neo-classical in form,
changed in the following century, when original fittings to allow each top to tip for
graceful, elegant and simply adorned with
Mary Granville (1700–1788) remarked, ’I storage. The two insertion leaves are an
drops and chains.
have not seen less than fourteen dishes of excellent match although not original.
meat for dinner, and seven for supper during
English Circa 1790
my peregrinations‘. Dinner in eighteenth- English Circa 1810
Height 23¼" 59cm
century England was a formal affair – still Width 56" 142cm
Width 16" 41cm
served à la Française – and an obvious Length 177" 450cm
opportunity to display one's wealth. Host Height 28" 71cm
and hostess could impress their guests by the
display of silver on the table 51702

A Set of Twelve late Eighteeenth-Century Mahogany Dining Chairs
The backs of these chairs, with their pierced
bar splats, serpentine top rail and in-curved
sides, are clearly indebted to late Rococo
models, as reflected in the designs of
Thomas Chippendale. However, the refined
and attenuated form, the turned legs, and
the finely carved Neo-classical anthemion
and husks reveal their slightly later date.
The columnar form of the front legs – with
round plinth feet, husk-wrapped reeded
shafts and turned and waisted capitals – is
particularly stylish. A further refinement
is seen in the saddle seats, which allow for
greater comfort.
Norman Adams, who once had these chairs
in his stock, was one of the most highly
regarded dealers of the twentieth century.
Important English Furniture 29
He set great store on gradual patination in a Provenance
piece of furniture, giving it a colour and glow Norman Adams Antiques, Knightsbridge
that was lost in re-polished pieces. These Trevor Antiques, Mayfair and Brighton
chairs – one of very few to be illustrated in Dr Norman Keevil, Vancouver, Canada
colour in the book published to celebrate
the firm’s history – fully exemplifies the Literature
qualities he valued so highly. C. Claxton Stevens & S. Whittington, 18th
Century English Furniture, The Norman
English Circa 1775 Adams Collection (1983), pp. 59 and 69
Arm
Width 23¼" 59cm 51727
Depth 19" 48cm
Height 38¼" 97cm
Single
Width 22½" 57cm
Depth 18" 46cm
Height 38¼" 97cm
30

A Matched Pair of George III Satinwood Chests of Drawers Attributed to Gillows

The design for these chests survives as a makes attribution to Gillows fairly Reference

coloured drawing in Gillows’ pattern book,
and another similar example banded in
purpleheart appears in their Estimate Sketch
Books, dated 24 October 1789. 1
A pair of chests was supplied to Sir John
Shaw Stewart for Ardgowan, Renfrewshire
in 1801 , and an identical commode chest
2
was supplied to Lord Eglington in 1798. 3
watertight. The silver-plated handles are
another feature characteristic of the firm,
and the overall quality of the chests is also
consistent with their work.
English Circa 1800
Width 45" 114.5cm / 44½" 113cm
Depth 24½" 62cm / 23¾" 60cm
Height 34¼" 87cm / 33¾" 86cm
1
L. Boynton, Gillow Furniture Designs 1760–
1800 (1995), colour pl. 11
2
S. Stuart, Gillows of London & Lancaster, 2
vols (2008), Vol. I, p. 352, fig. 412
3
D. Jones and J. Urquhart, ‘Gillows in
Scotland 1770-1830’, Regional Furniture, Vol.
12 (1998), p.138, fig. 21
51700

The close resemblance of these chests to the Provenance

drawings and the documented examples The McCarthy Collection

Important English Furniture 31
32
Important English Furniture 33
34

A Green Japanned Bookcase

Formerly in the Fogg Art Museum

The bookcase is one of several examples Provenance

that appear to come from a single
workshop, and it is among the finest
examples of japanning (the historic
European imitation of East Asian lacquer).
At least three other bookcases can be
identified as part of this group: one that
was acquired by Queen Mary, which was
subsequently in the collection of the Duke
of Windsor; a second that was formerly
1
Grenville Lindall Winthrop (d. 1943), at 15
81st Street, New York (in the bedroom of his
brother, Beekman Winthrop).
Bequeathed by G. L. Winthrop in 1943 to
to the Harvard Art Museums
The collection of the Fogg Art Museum and
the Busch Reisinger Museum, Harvard
University; by whom sold

handled by Apter-Fredericks;2 and a third Reference

that was published in 1971. 3 1

O. Brackett, English Furniture Illustrated
(1950), p.136
This example belonged at one time to 2
Apter-Fredericks, Important English
the famed collector Grenville Lindall Furniture, Vol. I [2011], p. 30
Winthrop (1864–1943), a contemporary 3
H. Huth, Lacquer of the West (1971), figs
of J. Pierpont Morgan, William Clay Frick 59 & 60
and Paul Mellon. He assembled one of the 4
New York Times, 17 October 1943
most important art collections in America
in the early twentieth century, ranging 51628

widely across different cultures and eras.

At his death Winthrop was hailed as 'the
most discriminating eclectic that America
has ever known amongst collectors'.4

English Circa 1725

Width 39½ " 100cm
Depth 23½ " 60cm
Height 92" 234cm
 Important English Furniture 35

A Regency Bench

This bench is decorated on the frieze with the a time when the market was depressed,
crest of the celebrated collector and author Beckford and his son in law, the Duke of
William Beckford and was probably made Hamilton, bought back a considerable
for his palatial folly in Wiltshire, Fonthill number of pieces, many of them for less than
Abbey. Having run through the fortune left the price he originally paid.
to him by his Father, he was forced to sell
the house, along with his art collection, for English Circa 1800
£330,000, the equivalent of approximately Width 54½" 138cm
£26 million today. Depth 15¾" 40cm
Height 18½" 47cm
Some time later, when the new owner
arranged an auction of the contents, at 51752
36

A Rare Regency Campagna Vase in Blue John

The vase made of Blue John from the Bull English Circa 1815
Beef vein from the upper level, including Width 7¾" 20cm
some of its famous "Double Stone" pattern Height 12½" 31.5cm
and sections of "Winnats Five Vein". The
base in black Ashford marble and with 51718

rarely seen low relief etched decoration on

each side of the plinth.

An outstanding example.
 Important English Furniture 37

A George III Brass-

Bound Octagonal
Cellaret

The architect Robert Adam remarked that

the English were ’accustomed by habit,
or induced by the nature of our climate to
indulge more largely in the enjoyment of the
bottle’ than the French. The wide variety
of forms of wine cooler produced in the
eighteenth century tends to endorse this
comment. Perhaps the most common form
adopted at this time was an octagonal box
on stand with a flat lid. The example shown
here has a much more unusual lid, in the
form of a pagoda or concave-sided dome.

English Circa 1760

Width 18½" 47cm
Depth 18" 46cm
Height 37" 94cm

Provenance

Exhibited by Norman Adams at the Grosvenor

House Antiques Fair, 1955. Illustrated in the
handbook, p.9.

Literature

C. Claxton Stevens and S. Whittington, 18th

Century English Furniture, the Norman
Adams Collection (1983, revised 1985), pp.
248–49

51724
38

A George III Marquetry Shield-back Settee
Marquetry seat furniture has always
been uncommon, probably because the
marquetry itself is liable to be damaged by
snagging clothes. There was a select vogue
for marquetry chairs in the early eighteenth
century – particularly for chairs decorated
with monograms or armorials, which were
undoubtedly intended for display more than
practical use. In the late eighteenth century
1
the practice was even more unusual, but in
the 1770s it was occasionally adopted by
Important English Furniture
John Linnell – for instance in the Library
suite at Osterley Park, and in a suite formerly
at Culham House, Berkshire, probably in
the drawing room. An anonymous set of
2
Neo-classical chairs from Sheringham Hall,
Norfolk, has oval splat backs with semi-
naturalistic Neo-classical marquetry. 3
The present settee, which formed part of an
original set with another settee and eight
elbow chairs, is still later than any of these
39
comparable suites. It represents a luxurious
and highly unusual variation on the shield-
back type of the 1780s–90s, which was
normally executed in carved mahogany or
with painted decoration. Both treatments are
suggested in Hepplewhite’s Cabinet-Maker
and Upholsterers’ Guide, in which numerous
variants of the type were published (in three
editions of 1788, 1789 and 1794).4 Mahogany
was the more conventional treatment, but
the Hepplewhite commentary notes that
40
‘a new and very elegant fashion has arisen
within these few years, of finishing them
with painted or japanned work, which gives a
rich and splendid appearance to the minuter
parts of the ornament’. The type was also
5
much favoured by Gillows, who were already
producing both carved and painted versions
by the time Hepplewhite’s pattern book was
first published. 6
Some anonymous versions in carved
mahogany are leavened with small
marquetry motifs, but the present suite,
7
decorated in marquetry throughout, is
quite exceptional. It must undoubtedly have
been prescribed by the original client, who
remains unidentified. This fastidious client
must also have had a very specific interior in
mind for these intimate two-seater settees,
made at a time when three-seaters had
become the norm.
Another matching settee is available at the
time of publication.
English Circa 1785–90
Height 37½" 95.5cm
Width 51" 130cm
Depth 26" 66cm
Provenance
Arthur Leidesdorf collection; sold Sotheby’s,
London, 28 June 1974, lot 146 (part)
Sold Christie’s, London, 9 April 1981, lot 29
Reference
1
L. Wood, The Upholstered Furniture in the
Lady Lever Art Gallery (2008), Vol. I, pp. 68,
205–27 (cat. nos 15 and 16).
2
For the Osterley elbow chairs (a set of eight),
and the the Library desk and writing tables
en suite, see H. Hayward and P. Kirkham,
William and John Linnell (1980), Vol. I, pp.
64, 117, Vol. II, figs 71, 156–57; M. Tomlin,
Catalogue of Adam Period Furniture,
Victoria and Albert Museum, 2nd edn (1982),
pp. 37–41 (Group E, with Linnell’s design for
the chairs, E/1a), 299.
The Culham House suite, comprising eight
elbow chairs, three window seats and two
side tables, is attributed to Linnell on stylistic
grounds; it was sold by Major Phillips,
Sotheby’s house sale, 9–11 April 1935, lots
83–85, and parts of the suite have appeared
on the market more recently; see Wood, op.
cit. (note 1), Vol. I, p.68, fig. 79, Vol. II, p.638
and n.18.
3
Two chairs from this suite are in the Lady
Lever Art Gallery (Wood, op. cit. (note 1),
pp. 631–38, cat. no. 59). The rest, comprising
two elbow chairs, eight plain chairs and an
urn table, were sold from Sheringham Hall,
Christie’s house sale, 22–23 October 1986,
lots 78–79; and re-sold (except for the urn
table), Christie’s London, 20 May 2010, lot
105. Only three chairs in the entire suite are
of the original manufacture, c. 1780; the other
pieces may date from c. 1812–19.
4
All three editions were published by Alice
Hepplewhite, widow of George Hepplewhite who
died in 1786. See A. Hepplewhite and Co., The
Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide, 3rd edn
(1794), pp.1–2 and pl.1–7 and 9; Elizabeth White,
Pictorial Dictionary of British 18th Century
Furniture Design (1990), pp. 86–90.
5
Hepplewhite, op. cit. (note 4), p.2.
6
S. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London,
2 vols (2008), Vol.I, pp.158–70 and pl.111–29;
L. Boynton (ed.), Gillow Furniture Designs
(1995), colour pl. 24. In 1801 Gillows informed
a customer that they did not own a copy
of ‘Habblethwaite’s Publication’ (G. Beard
and C. Gilbert (eds), Dictionary of English
Furniture Makers (1986), p.422).
7
For example, Wood, op. cit. (note 1), Vol.II,
pp. 677–81, cat. no. 64 and figs 424–25.
51712
Important English Furniture 41

A Regency Mahogany
Barometer

The domestic barometer, or ‘weathered

glass’ as it was frequently called, began
life late in the seveneteenth century and
became increasingly popular throughout
the eighteeenth.

During the first half of the nineteenth

century, the demand for fine barometers
grew exponentially, with the expansion
of a prosperous middle class market; and
manufacturers produced a wide range of
decorative, finely worked instruments in
response to this demand.

This rare and elegant wall-hanging barometer

has a most unusual and decorative design.
The richly veneered stem, moulded at the top
and base, includes an integral semi-circular
cross-banded structure to accommodate the
paper dial, read through a glazed aperture.
The scale registers from 28½ inches to 30½
inches and can be read to one-twentieth of
an inch via a single hand.

The dial is signed and dated by Thomas

Hargraves of Settle, 1832. A barometer
maker of this name is recorded as first
working in Settle in the last quarter of the
eighteenth century.1 It is likely that he was
succeeded by a son of the same name.

Height 38½” 98cm Width 11¼” 28cm

Reference
1
E. Banfield, Barometer Makers and Retailers
1660 – 1900 (1991), p.103

51754
42

A George III Adam

Period Carved
Mahogany Side Table

The table has been constructed from the

very finest mahogany. Consequently, the
finely executed carving is as crisp today as it
was when carved 250 years ago.

The design of the leg is similar to that in a

design by Chippendale, published in the 3rd
edition of the Director (1762), pl. 61 (Fig. 4).

English Circa 1770

Width 72¼" 183.5cm
Depth 29¾" 75.5cm
Height 34¼" 87cm

51223

Fig. 4
Important English Furniture 43
44
Fig. 5
A George I Carved Gilt-wood and Cut Gesso Mirror
In the early eighteenth century any mirror
with candle arms was known as a sconce.
It was still a relatively novel feature of the
Georgian interior, and became increasingly
common as free-standing candle stands
went out of use. This example has the
double-arched plate and scrolled cresting
typical of the 1720s, and the decoration is
a combination of finely cut gesso work and
boldly carved softwood.
Sconces were generally sold by cabinet-
makers, and examples of this form are
associated with some of the best known
practitioners of the time, such as John
Gumley, James Moore and John Belchier.
However, it is possible that much of what
they sold was made on other premises by
specialist ‘looking-glass makers’. One such
was Isaac Odell (d.1727) who worked near
the Strand. As well as supplying mirrors
on his own account direct to clients, Odell
acted as a subcontractor to prominent
London cabinet-makers. It is often difficult,
therefore, to attribute mirrors to particular
makers, but in the present case there are
close parallels with a sconce bearing the
trade label of Thomas Cleare (Fig 5).1 Cleare
was a cabinet-maker, who worked at the sign
of the ‘Indian Chair’ in St Paul’s Churchyard
in the 1720s – thus a contemporary and
neighbour of John Belchier.
The plate original, the candle arms replaced.
English Circa 1725
Width 33” 84cm
Height 60” 152.5cm
Reference
1
A. Bowett, Early Georgian Furniture (2009),
p. 281, pl. 6.28.
51656
Important English Furniture 45
46

A Kidney Shaped Desk in Amboyna and Ebony

The kidney desk and the Carlton House English Circa 1860
writing table are two of the most sculptural Width 50" 127cm
forms of English furniture, both of them Depth 26" 66cm
designed to be free-standing. This example Height 29" 74cm
is of an excellent colour and of the very finest
quality. 51227

The inclusion of shelves on the back is a

particularly pleasing feature, which is by
no means always adopted; in some cases
the kneehole extends through the back.
Important English Furniture 47
48

A Pair of Regency Side Chairs

These generously proportioned chairs, with English Circa 1825

sweeping back legs, wide seats and tall Width 22" 56cm
backs, are of exceptional quality. They were Depth 23¼" 59cm
made towards the end of the Regency period, Height 38½" 98cm
possibly by Morel & Seddon, cabinet-makers
to George IV. 51617
 Important English Furniture 49

A Regency Side Cabinet

The cabinet is a classic example of English Circa 1810

Regency furniture which exploits the Width 42" 107cm
contrast between a dark wood and bright Depth 13½" 34cm
gilt-metal mounts to great effect. Its Height 36" 92cm
opulence reflects the confident mood of
the Regency period. 51665
50
 Important English Furniture 51

A William IV Circular Dining Table

This stylish table will comfortably seat eight English Circa 1835
people. The concave sides of the plinth keep Diameter 69" 175.25cm
it out of the way of those seated at it. Height 29" 73.5cm

When lit by candle-light, the golden-coloured 51729

mahogany takes on a wonderful glow.

The top may be tipped for storage and retains

its original gilt metal clip.
52
An Exceptional Inlaid Urn Stand
The fashion for tea drinking was brought to
the English court in the 1660s by Charles II’s
queen, Catherine of Braganza, who had been
a devotee since her childhood in Portugal.
Thereafter the taste for tea quickly spread
among the British aristocracy.
Whilst tea was drunk by men in the coffee
houses where they met to do business and
discuss the events of the day, women were
excluded from this activity and instead held
tea parties in their homes. These parties
offered the hostess an opportunity to display
her taste and sophistication. Consequently
a great deal of money was spent on the
tea equipage. This included the china, the
silver and also the furniture. Specific pieces
of furniture were made for the purpose,
including urn stands to support the tea urn.
Interestingly, tea drinking had its critics.
In 1757 the philanthropist Jonas Hanway
published an essay on the effects of tea
drinking, 'considered as pernicious to health,
obstructing industry and impoverishing
the nation'. He even claimed that it had an
especially bad effect on women, such that
'there is not quite so much beauty in this
land as there was'. Dr. Johnson, however,
1
poured scorn on Hanway’s views.2
This urn stand is one of at least three with
very similar inlaid decoration, which were
clearly made in the same workshop.3 This
example retains its original gallery and slide
and is in very good condition.
English Circa 1780
Width 11½” 29cm
Depth 11½” 29cm
Height 28” 71cm
Reference
1
Jonas Hanway, An Essay on Tea. (1757)
2
Dr. S. Johnson, The Literary Magazine 2, no.
13 (1757).
3
Of the other three, one was sold from
Godmersham Park, Kent, Christie’s house
sale, 6–9 June 1983, lot 376; another was
formerly in the stock of Norman Adams (C.
Claxton Stevens and S. Whittington, 18th
Century English Furniture: The Norman
Adams Collection, 2nd edn (1985), p. 328);
and the third was recently in our stock (Apter-
Fredericks, Important English Furniture, Vol.
I [2011], p. 83), although it is possible that this
one is the Godmersham example.
51682
Important English Furniture 53
54
Important English Furniture 55
56

Previous page:

A Pair of George III Mahogany Chests of Drawers

The small scale of these chests gives them century but distinctly uncommon a
a particular charm, which is enhanced by generation later, when these chests were
their subtly serpentined fronts, with fretted made. The handles and feet are original.
chamfered front corners, and their simple
swan-neck handles. Unusually for this English Circa 1760
period, the cabinet-maker has decorated the Height 30¾" 78cm
top with quartered veneers (four slices cut Width 40" 101.5cm
from the same block of wood) of a strongly Depth 19" 48cm
figured pattern. This decorative device is
much more typical of the early eighteenth 51339
 Important English Furniture 57

A Pair of George III Mahogany & Brass Candelabra

Until the beginning of the nineteenth English Circa 1775

century light came from one of three Diameter 13¼” 34cm
sources; the sun, the moon and the flame. So Height 19¾” 50cm
it is not surprising that the variety of forms
adopted to hold a candle were so great. On 51691

this ingenious example from the latter half

of the eighteenth century the candle arms
may be moved up and down the column to
the desired height.
58
Important English Furniture 59
60
Previous page:
A Pair of George II Gilt-wood Mirrors
Attributed to Matthias Lock
These mirrors are conceived in the fluent,
controlled manner which distinguishes the
work of the carver and designer Matthias
Lock (c.1710-65), one of the leading figures
of the English Rococo movement.
The overall form of the mirror is strongly
symmetrical, and the carving of the
individual elements emphatic and robust. At
each side of the frame, two outward looking
heads rise from elongated scrolls. This is a
distinctive motif, frequently used by Lock.
The collection of Matthias Lock’s drawings
in the Victoria and Albert Museum includes
a 'sconce' pattern,1 which he published as an
engraving in 1744 (Fig. 6). The present pair
2
of mirrors were undoubtedly produced by a
carver with knowledge of this design. The
fact that the mirrors differ from the design
but retain the fluidity and confidence so
evident in documented work by Lock is a
good indication that Lock himself may be the
carver. All too often mirrors are attributed
to Lock because they are an exact match for
one of his published designs – which is more
likely to be indicative of the work of a copyist,
relying on Lock’s published engravings.
Matthias Lock is considered to be one of
the greatest draughtsmen of his age. He
produced numerous designs which were
published and is best known for the table
and mirror he made for Hinton House,
which are now in the Victoria and Albert
Museum.
English Circa 1750
Width 35” 89cm
Height 59” 150cm
Fig. 6 © Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Provenance
Exhibited by Leonard Knight Ltd at the
Grosvenor House Antiques Fair, 1949
(illustrated in the handbook, p. 59)
Reference
1
V&A, Museum no. E.3379-1938
2
Matthias Lock, Six Sconces, 2nd edn
(1744), pl. 4.
51646

A Pair of Hepplewhite Period Decorated Armchairs
In the full Neo-classical style popular in
the last quarter of the eighteenth century,
these armchairs are nicely proportioned
and superbly decorated. While there is
insufficient evidence to assign them to
a particular maker, there are striking
similarities between these chairs and a
number of others that have been attributed
to Seddon & Sons & Shackleton.
At one time this business was the largest
and most successful in London. Seddon's
workshop was described by London visitor
Sophie v. La Roche in 1786: "We drove first to
Mr. Seddon's, a cabinet-maker, ...who employs
four hundred journeymen in all sorts of
Important English Furniture 61
tasks, which are necessary of the proper An additional pair of chairs are available at
furnishing of any house. …All this is the time of publication.
carried out in a building with six wings. In
the basement mirrors are cast and polished. English Circa 1785-90
In one of the other departments nothing is Width 22¼” 57cm
produced but chairs, sofas, and stools of all Depth 19¼” 49cm
kinds … One large room is absolutely full Height 37” 94cm
up with finished articles in this line, while
more rooms are occupied by writing-tables, 1
C. Gilbert and L. Wood, ‘Sophie von La
cupboards, chest of drawers, …from the Roche at Seddon’s’, Furniture History, Vol. 33
simplest and cheapest to the most elaborate (1997), pp. 30–34 (pp. 30–31)
and expensive."1
51604
When he died he left an estate valued at
£250,000, equivalent to about £16,000,000
today.
62

A Pair of Regency Cut Glass Decanters

Some antiques are hard to find, either feature is their wide flat base. This pair are
because few examples were originally made, very finely cut and in excellent condition.
or because the environment in which they
were used and the material they are made English Circa 1800
from make them particularly vulnerable. Height 10½" 27cm
This is certainly the case with 'ship's'
decanters. Literature

R. Butler, Great British Wine Accessories

The so-called ship’s decanters are otherwise (2009), p.136 for further examples.
known as Rodneys (after the naval hero
Admiral Rodney). Their distinguishing 51635

Benjamin Vulliamy’s ‘Long Black Marble Clock with Bronze Lions’ Numbered 408
Benjamin Vulliamy was the son of a Swiss
watchmaker who emigrated to London
and married the daughter of the King's
Watchmaker, Benjamin Gray. Towards the
end of the eighteenth century Vulliamy was
very successfully competing with French
makers supplying ornamental clocks in the
Neo-classical taste. By the 1800s his success
led him to expand his repertoire. Taking
advantage of wartime restrictions on the
import of French luxury goods, he began
producing exquisite ornaments for the
wealthiest connoisseurs in Britain, including
the Prince of Wales.
Important English Furniture 63
Vulliamy was one of very few clockmakers English Invoiced by Vulliamy May 30th 1807
who numbered their work. Fortunately, Height : 10¾” 27cm
two of his work books are still in existence, Width : 13¾” 35cm
housed with the British Horological Institute Depth : 3¾ “ 9.5cm
at Upton Hall, Nottinghamshire, and clock
number 408 is detailed. The clock was made Provenance
for Charles Cockrill Esq, at a total cost of Supplied to Charles Cockrill Esq. on 30th
£29 3s. 6d. This is a fine example of his work, May 1807.
made all the more interesting for being so Private collection, Austria.
fully documented. Private collection, UK.
The back plate signed Vulliamy, London, 51777
408. The pendulum with a steel rod and
heavy brass bob also stamped 408.
64

A Sheraton Period Sideboard

The sideboard, designed to provide a drawer behind the right-hand door. Its most
surface from which food could be served, unusual feature, however, is the slide above
was vulnerable to continuous marking, the left door, which may be used to hold
scratching and staining. Consequently, serving dishes.
many examples have been re-polished on
one or more occasions. This sideboard, English Circa 1790
unusually, has escaped such restoration and Width 73" 185cm
has developed a splendid surface in faded Depth 29½" 75cm
and patinated mahogany. Height 36" 91cm

It is fitted with a central drawer, a cupboard 51636

behind the left-hand door and a cellaret

Important English Furniture 65
66
 Important English Furniture 67

A George I Burr Walnut Tea Table

The tea table is veneered in highly figured The maker has a true affinity with his
burr walnut with herring-bone inlay materials and an eye for proportion and
and cross-banded borders, consistent shape. The table is a most understated star.
with the finest walnut furniture of this
period. However comparisons with other English Circa 1720
contemporary pieces stop here. The shape Width 33½” 85cm
of this table is, as far as we can discover, Depth 15½” 39cm
unique, and the decoration in relief on each Height 28” 71cm
leg has no parallels. The resulting table is a
classic example of cabinet-making at its best. 51668
68
A Pair of George I Burr Walnut Side Chairs
This model of chair is known in both
English walnut 1
and Chinese rosewood
(huali) (Fig. 7). The Chinese versions, made
2
for the export market, are so close to the
English prototypes that they must have been
copied from an actual chair, taken out to
China for the purpose. Some chairs of this
model appear in a conversation piece by
William Verelst, dated 1741 (Fig. 8). This
3
shows the family of Sir Henry Gough, a
wealthy merchant who built his fortune on
trade with India and China. Whether the
chairs shown in this picture are English or
Chinese is uncertain, but Sir Henry very
probably owned examples in both kinds,
and it may well have been he who sent out
the English version to be copied. However, it
appears that at least three Chinese sets were
made, so they were presumably sold to other
merchants besides Gough. 4
English Circa 1720
Width 22” 56cm
Depth 21½” 55cm
Height 39¼” 100cm
Provenance
Perhaps Sir Henry Gough, 1st Bart (1708–
1774)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
1918; deaccessioned.
Reference
1
Three more in walnut were sold at Phillips,
London, 26 November 1985, lot 29 – two of
which are now in the Gerstenfeld Collection
(E. Lennox-Boyd, Masterpieces of English
Furniture: The Gerstenfeld Collection (1998),
pp. 80–81, 207 (cat. no. 32).
2
A set of two armchairs and four side chairs
is in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, and several Fig. 7
others have appeared on the market (L.
Wood, The Upholstered Furniture in the Lady
Lever Art Gallery (2008), Vol. I, pp. 429–40
(cat. no. 36); C. Crossman, The Decorative
Arts of the China Trade (1991), p. 233, fig. 85;
D. Howard, A Tale of Three Cities: Canton,
Shanghai and Hong Kong, exh. cat., Sotheby’s
(1997), p. 168, fig. 217). By kind permission of
Sotheby's.
3
Private Collection, on loan to the Victoria
and Albert Museum. See Manners and
Morals, exh. cat., Tate Gallery, London
Fig. 8 © Victoria & Albert Museum, London
(1987), pp. 124–25 (cat. no.107).
4
Wood, op. cit. (see note 2), p. 436.
51742
Important English Furniture 69
70
A Neo-classical Gilt-wood Bracket
The form of a Roman tripod altar, with
sacrificial ram-head finials, engaged the
attention of several Neo-classical architects,
including James 'Athenian' Stuart, William
1
Chambers, and of course Robert Adam.
2 3
The model was generally adapted for use
as large, free-standing tripod torchères,
as for example in the Drawing Room at
Osterley Park – although Stuart’s tripods at
Shugborough are only 3 feet high. Stuart 4
also designed a number of gilt-bronze
tripods of similar small scale to the present
carved bracket, but these were again free-
standing and raised up on pedestals of
varying height . 5
Conversely, Adam’s designs for ‘antique’ wall
brackets for the most part make no reference
to the tripod form. The present bracket is
6
unusual in being a near-direct translation of
a free-standing tripod torchère, but reduced
in scale and vertically bisected, to allow it to
be mounted on the wall. Parallels are to be
found in the output of Thomas Chippendale,
father and son – notably in the frontispiece to
Chippendale junior’s Sketches of Ornament
of 1779 (Fig. 10). This curious confection
7
shows a similar two-dimensional approach to
three-dimensional forms, and the design of
the present bracket echoes both the tripod at
the centre and the flowers on a splayed dish at
the top. Similar motifs appear at the top and
bottom of a pair of oval pier glasses supplied
for Harewood House c. 1778–79 – nominally
by Chippendale senior, but from the period
when his son increasingly assumed artistic
control of the workshop. 8
English Circa 1780 Chippendale, Jnr, 1779’, Furniture History,
Width 15¼ ” 38.5cm Vol. 11 (1975), pp. 56–58 and pl. 1.
Depth 6½” 16.5cm 8
C. Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas
Height 24½” 62.5cm Chippendale (1978), Vol. I, colour pl. 11 and
p. 197; Vol. II, fig. 286.
Reference
1
S. Weber Soros (ed.), James Athenian Stuart, 51657
exh. cat. (2006), pp. 458 (fig. 10-73), 598 (no.
45), a pair of tripod stands at Shugborough.
2
W. Chambers, A Treatise on the Decorative
Part of Civil Architecture, 3rd edn (1791),
'Various ornamental utensils'; see R.
Middleton, in J. Harris and M. Snodin (eds),
Sir William Chambers, exh. cat. (1996), p.
75 and fig. 104. The heads in this design are
hybrids, satyr-masks with ram horns, the legs
ending in cloven feet.
3
The Works in Architecture of Robert and
James Adam, Vol. I, No. I (1773), pl. VIII. See
E. White, Pictorial Dictionary of British 18th
Century Furniture Design (1990), pp. 307, 345.
4
The Osterley tripods are 57 in. (144.5cm)
high. See M. Tomlin, Catalogue of Adam
Period Furniture (V&A, 1982), cat. no. F/3. Fig. 9
Tomlin suggests a connection to a manuscript
design by Adam (ibid., fig. F/3a). For the
Shugborough tripods see note 1.
5
S. Weber Soros, op. cit. (note 1), figs 10-20,
11-1–3, 11-6–7. For Stuart’s wider use of the
tripod form see ibid., pp. 427–32.
6
R. and J. Adam, op. cit. (note 3)., Vol. I, No. I
(1773), pl. VIII, Vol. II, No. IV (1778), Pl. VIII;
White, op. cit. (note 3)., p. 404. Only one of
these designs is derived, more loosely, from a
tripod altar.
7
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.4342-
1905. See I. Hall, ‘The engravings of Thomas Fig. 10 © Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Important English Furniture 71
72

A George III Satinwood Carlton House Writing Table

This form of writing desk emerged as a English Circa 1800

novelty in the 1790s. With a curved back and Width 41¾” 106.5cm
elegant super-structure, it was designed to Depth 24½" 62cm
be moved away from the wall into the centre Height 33½” 85cm
of a room to be admired from all angles.
This function accounts for the consistently Reference

high level of finish on all sides of the present 1

example; and its small scale allows it to be
placed in almost any room.
The type was first described as a Carlton
House writing table by Gillows of Lancaster
and named after the Prince Regent's palace
Carlton House. The Prince Regent owned
Hugh Roberts, ‘The First Carlton House
Desk?’, Furniture History, Vol. 31 (1995), pp.
124–28.
2
Exhibited by Glaisher & Nash at the
Grosvenor House Antiques Fair, 1973,
Illustrated in the handbook, 1973, p.37
51714

at least one such desk, made by John Kerr

in 1791, perhaps to the design of George
Hepplewhite.1

Another mahogany example almost

identical to the present one was exhibited at
Grosvenor House in 1973.2
Important English Furniture 73
74
 Important English Furniture 75

A George III Hepplewhite Period Chest of Drawers

The surface of this chest shows how subtly English Circa 1780
mahogany can change colour over time. The
quarter-veneered top has become a golden Width 41½" 105cm
colour and the front is rich and well figured Depth 24¾" 63cm
with a tulipwood banding to each drawer. Height 33" 84cm
The serpentine front is confidently drawn
and the overall shape nicely softened by the 51708

canted corners which have been inlaid with

simulated fluting.
76
Important English Furniture 77
78

Fig. 11

A Pair of George III Sheraton Period Console Tables

As with so much English furniture, the Provenance

original history of these tables is lost, and we
know nothing of either their maker or their
first owners. However, they were clearly
made in the same workshop as a group of
tables with very similar carved swagged
Exhibited by Loewanthal ltd. at the Grosvenor
House Antiques Fair, 1952. illustrated in the
handbook, p.62
Reference

ribbons in the frieze. This group includes 1

H. Cescinsky, English Furniture of the
another pair of tables published in 1911 and
1
Eighteenth Century, 3 vols (1909–11), Vol. III,
a singleton published in 1922. Our pair of
2
pp. 30 & 31
tables was exhibited at the Grosvenor House 2
M. Jourdain, English Decoration and
Antiques Fair in 1952. Furniture of the Later Eighteenth Century
(1922), fig. 381
English Circa 1790
Width 39” 99cm" 51730

Depth 16½” 42cm

Height 35½” 90cm
 Important English Furniture 79

A Pair of George III Blue John Urns

The pair of urns turned from attractively English Circa 1790 – 1800
striated Derbyshire fluorspar, known as Blue Diameter 4¼" 10.75cm
John and possibly from the Miller’s Vein seam. Height 10½" 26.5cm

Finely proportioned and a good colour. 51728

80
 Important English Furniture 81

Opposite:

A Dutch Cabinet
Veneered in Mahogany
and Satinwood
with East Asian
Lacquer Panels

This cabinet is stamped by Gillows.

Normally, such a mark could be taken to
identify the manufacturers of the piece in
question. However, Gillows’ records indicate
that they retailed furniture sourced from
other makers – as has clearly happened
in this instance. This cabinet is Dutch and
conforms to a number we have handled over
the years, which very successfully combine
satinwood with East Asian lacquer panels.

Holland Circa 1850

Width 35¼" 89.5cm
Depth 16" 41cm
Height 33½" 85cm

51705

A Pair of Red and Gilt Decorated Tole Lamps

In the past there has been a tendency to French Circa 1810

attribute all red and gold tinware to France Diameter 9” 22.5cm
despite evidence that some items were made Height 23½” 60cm
in Germany. On balance it seems likely
that these lamps are French, but the subject 51755

requires further research. In any event, they

are particularly attractive and the decoration
is in very good condition.
82

A Regency Period Console Table

The superior quality of this console is evident English Circa 1810

in the particularly fine gallery and ormolu Width 48" 122cm
mounts. Interestingly, the columns are in Depth 11" 28cm
rosewood, finished with ormolu capitals and Height 37" 94cm
bases, creating a very attractive contrast. It is
far more common for these columns to be in 51649

ormolu throughout.
 Important English Furniture 83

A Pair of George III Blue John Candlesticks

These candlesticks have ‘Van Dyke’ pans of the most fashionable houses. The allure of
and nozzles, datable to the late eighteenth Blue John has been sustained since his time,
century, and exceptionally rare Blue and it remains as sought-after now as ever.
John bases, which place these among the
finest lustres of the period. The beauty English Circa 1790
and luminosity of Blue John have long Height 12" 31cm
been admired. In late eighteenth-century Diameter 5" 12.5cm
England, Matthew Boulton and his Soho
Manufactory produced exceptional ormolu- 51696

mounted garnitures for the chimneypieces

84

An Early George III Mahogany Breakfront Bookcase

This superb bookcase, combining Rococo, by major writers and advisers on English
Gothic, Chinese and Classical motifs, furniture, including R. W. Symonds,
appears to be inspired by more than one H. Cescinsky and M. Jourdain.
design in Thomas Chippendale’s Gentleman
and Cabinet-Maker’s Director. The overall It was also exhibited at the Grosvenor House
form corresponds to a design for a ‘Library Antiques Fair in 1987, and illustrated in the
Bookcase’, plate 62 in the 1st edition of 1754 companion handbook.
(reissued as plate 90 in the 3rd edition of
1762). Some of the details may be drawn English Circa 1765
from a design for a ‘China Case’ (plate 137 Width 91" 231.1cm
in the 3rd edition), notably the fretwork and Depth 26" 66cm
the scalloped cornice of the base section. Height 103" 261.6cm

A number of stylistic features suggest that Literature

this cabinet may possibly be by the Wakefield
firm of Wright and Elwick, identified as ‘The
Wentworth Cabinet Maker’ in Christie's
catalogue of the sale from the Wentworth
Collection, 8 July 1998. The most notable
feature is its dependence on designs from
the two editions of Thomas Chippendale's
Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director,
as detailed above.
A closely related bookcase, without doubt by
the same maker, was part of the Leidesdorf
Collection (sold Sotheby’s London, 27–28
R. W. Symonds, The Present State of Old
English Furniture (1921), fig. 99.
H. Cescinsky, The Old World House (1924), p.
279
M. Jourdain, ’Mr. C. D. Rotch's Collection of
Furniture, Part I,’ Country Life, 7 June 1924,
p. 237, fig.1.
R. Edwards, The Dictionary of English
Furniture, 2nd edn (1954), Vol. I, p. 87, fig. 24.
The Magazine Antiques, October 1995 (trade
advertisement for Hotspur Ltd.)
Provenance

June 1974, lot 78). Claude D. Rotch, Esq., The Elms, Teddington,
Surrey (before 1921)
The present bookcase was once in the Exhibited by R.A. Lee Ltd. at the Grosvenor
celebrated collection of Claude Rotch, House Antiques Fair, 1987 (illustrated in the
handled by two major names in English handbook, p.129)
furniture dealing, Ronald Lee and Hotspur, Hotspur Ltd. (1995)
and published in The Dictionary of English
Furniture, as well as in books and articles 51091
Important English Furniture 85
86

A Pair of George III Pontypool Papier-Mâché Panels

Each panel has a central oval with a painted The source for the second medallion remains
rustic scene, undoubtedly copied from unidentified
engravings after fashionable paintings. The
original source for one medallion has been The two panels must have been produced
identified as Thomas Barker’s Woodman and at some point between 1792 (the date of the
his Dog, which was engraved by Francesco Bartolozzi print) and about 1811 (after which the
Bartolozzi in 1792. Curiously, Barker himself Pontypool japanning trade went into decline).
came originally from Pontypool, although
he spent his working life in Bath. There is no Welsh Circa 1800
evidence that he had any direct connection Width 21¼" 54cm
with the Pontypool japanning industry, but Height 38½" 98cm
his works may have been championed there
out of pride in the town’s most notable son. 51722 Fig. 12

A Nineteenth-Century Lighthouse
This fantastic object was acquired for its
obvious decorative and amusement value.
Only after acquiring it did we discover that
it is fully functioning electrically. Not only
does the light at the top turn around as it
would on a working lighthouse, but all the
windows down the column light up.
It is constructed of hundreds if not
thousands of rectangular pieces of different
woods, arranged in a decorative brickwork
pattern, which must have been a distinctly
time-consuming task.
Important English Furniture 87
As to the maker or country of origin of this
possibly unique object, we have only the clue
that the light itself was manufactured by the
Carello Brothers, a family-run firm in Turin
supplying lights to the automotive trade. We
hope that the publication of this piece here
may bring more information to light.
Width 16” 41cm
Depth 16” 41cm
Height 99” 252cm
51758
88

An Unusual Pair of George III Tables

Each table has a writing slide in the central English Circa 1790
drawer and a cupboard below that does not Width 35" 89cm
open at the front, but instead is accessed by Depth 15¾" 40cm
the curved doors at either side. These doors Height 30" 76cm
are opened by releasing a catch but may also
be locked with a key. This placing of the doors Provenance

makes it possible to sit at each table, with the The Estate of Henry Luce III (Until 2008)
writing slide out, without blocking access
to the cupboard. This consideration also 51066

accounts for the curvature of the platform

stretcher, which is shaped to accommodate
a person’s legs.
Important English Furniture 89
90

A Pair of George III

Gilt-Wood Wall Brackets

The high Rococo of the mid-eighteenth

century is encapsulated in this pair of
asymmetric brackets, finely and boldly
carved with interlacing ‘C’ scrolls and foliage.

English Circa 1765

Width 8½" 21.5cm
Depth 6" 15cm
Height 13¾" 35cm

51698

Opposite:

A Nest of Tables otherwise known as Quartetto Tables

Quartetto tables were novel and versatile multi-functional furniture for which there English Circa 1800
objects in the Regency period, lending was a heightened demand in this period, Width 22¼" 57cm
themselves to a variety of uses. Sheraton with the extension of fashionable living Depth 11¼" 29cm
described their use for needlework in 1803, to the middle classes, occupying relatively Height 28¼" 72cm
noting that they are ‘made to draw out of confined spaces.
each other, and may be used separately, Reference

and again inclosed within each other when
not wanted.’ George Smith five years later
1
designated them as for drawing rooms,
where they ‘prevent the company rising
from their seats, when taking refreshments.’
This is one of the finest sets of quartetto tables 1
T. Sheraton, The Cabinet Dictionary (1803),
that we have handled, being of exceptional p. 293.
quality and finished with the greatest 2
G. Smith, Household Furniture (1808), p.15
attention to detail. The reeded columns and
2
peg feet are particularly attractive features. 51709

These tables were part of the new range of

Important English Furniture 91
92

Gillows’ Imperial Pattern Dining Table

In 1804, the first ‘Imperial’ pattern dining English Circa 1804

table was illustrated in Gillows’ Estimate Length 124½" 316cm
Sketch Book. It would become one of their Width 56" 142cm
most successful items, and by the late 1820s Height 28½ " 72cm
almost all the dining tables they sold were
of this type.1 The genius of the table is the
telescopic action. As Gillows explained, ‘the Reference

frame slides into the frame under each end
and may be used at any size from the two
ends to the fullest extent.’
On this example each leg may be unscrewed
to allow the table to be packed away or easily
transported, should the owner need to take
it on 'campaign'.
S. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London
1730–1840, 2 vols (2008), Vol. I, pp. 243–46.
Fig. 13 reproduced by kind permission of
City of Westminster Archives Centre
51146
 Important English Furniture 93

Fig. 13
94
Fig. 14
A George III Carved Mahogany
Commode possibly by Philip Bell
This exceptional commode closely
corresponds in its overall design to a
published piece bearing the label of Philip
Bell (Fig 14) – sharing the same low-slung
1
form, with gently serpentine front and sides,
canted front corners and large ogee bracket
feet, fitted with four graduated drawers and
a brushing slide, and picked out with robust
carving in the same places. However, the
detail of the carving differs on the labeled
piece, the current whereabouts of which are
unknown. Should it reappear, close physical
comparison of the two pieces might enable
us to confirm our tentative attribution of the
present commode to Bell.
Philip Bell was probably the son of Henry
and Elizabeth Bell, whom he succeeded in
the business established at the White Swan,
St. Paul’s Churchyard. Interestingly, when he
decided to update his trade card he employed
Matthias Darly, the engraver responsible for
many of the plates in Chippendale’s Director
(Fig. 15).2
Important English Furniture 95
96

English Circa 1760

Width 40” 101.5cm
Depth 23¼” 59cm
Height 32½” 82.5cm

Provenance

Private collection, UK.

Reference
1
G. Willis, English Furniture 1760–1900
(1971), pp. 66 (pl. 9), 106 and fig. 83; C. Gilbert,
Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London
Fig. 15
Furniture 1700–1840 (1996), p. 94, fig. 89.
2
G. Beard and C. Gilbert, Dictionary of English
Furniture Makers 1660–1840 (1986), pp. 61, 62

50834
 Important English Furniture 97

A Pair of French Eighteenth Century

Ormolu and Blue John Candle Vases

This exquisite pair of vases are mounted French Circa 1780

with the finest chased ormolu, which still Width 5" 13cm
retains its original gilded finish. The Blue Depth 3¼ " 8.5cm
John is a wonderful colour and the striations Height 8½ " 22cm
of the stone on each vase are a perfect match.
This is by no means typical. 51621
98
 Important English Furniture 99

Opposite:

A Nineteenth-
Century Bucket of
Exceptional Size A Chinese Low Table

This extraordinarily large coopered oak
bucket is also unusual in retaining its lid.
Probably intended for wood or peat blocks,
it could well have stood on a stone floor close
to a suitably grand fire-place.
English Circa 1880
Diameter 27" 69cm
Height 42" 107cm
51654
The top of the table has been allowed to fade
to a golden colour, which glows when the
light catches it. Perfect for use as a bench at
the end of a bed, for use as a coffee table or in
a hallway, it has a dense timber that makes
it eminently functional as well as attractive.
Chinese Early nineteenth-century.
Width 43½" 110cm
Height 19" 48.5cm
Depth 15½" 39.5cm

51697
100

A Pair of George II Carved Mahogany Armchairs

The curvaceous form of this pair of chairs English Circa 1750

puts them firmly in the Rococo period. They Width 27" 69cm
are beautifully shaped – with serpentine Depth 28" 71.5cm
head-rail, out-swept arms and cabriole legs Height 38½" 95cm
– and generously sized. The carving is crisp
and the wood a golden colour. 51640
Important English Furniture 101
102

Opposite:

A Pair of Regency A George II Burr Walnut Kneehole Desk

Occasional Tables
In the eighteenth century desks were English Circa 1730

A very useful pair of tables of the Regency described as 'buroes' or dressing-buroes. Width 30½" 77cm

period which are light and quirky in design. They were placed in bed-chambers or Depth 20½" 52cm

Each table has a well-figured mahogany top dressing-rooms and could be used both for Height 30" 76cm

supported on a turned ‘bee-hive’ column dressing and writing.

Provenance
above three down-swept legs, which are
fitted with brass mounts and brass ball feet. This example has the most desirable Apter-Fredericks ltd, Chelsea
attributes of furniture of this period. The top The Albrecht Collection

English Circa 1810 is quarter-veneered and edged with herring- Private Collection, UK

Width 16¾” 42.5cm bone and cross-banding, and the same two

Depth 16½” 42cm bandings are used on the drawer fronts. The 1
Another desk with canted front corners

Height 29” 74cm fluted canted front corners are more typical is illustrated in R. Edwards, Dictionary of
of the chest-on-chest form, but unusual on English Furniture, 3 vols (1954), Vol. III,

51641 a kneehole desk. This desk also retains its

1
p.244, fig.10.
original feet and handles (elements that are
more often than not replaced), and over time 51746

its surface has taken on a golden colour.

Important English Furniture 103
104

A Pair of Old Sheffield

Plated Carriage Lamps

These exceptionally large carriage lamps

were presumably made for a carriage of
commensurate size and grandeur. Now
wired for electricity, they retain their original
brackets and would look very impressive
lighting an entrance hall or porch.

English, Circa 1850

Height 36" 91.5cm

51725

A Pair of Nineteenth-Century Cannon from Nanteos Mansion
Nanteos is one of the finest Georgian
houses in Wales and home to the Powell
family for over 250 years. The house has a
marvellous claim to fame. It was supposed
to be the resting place of the Holy Grail.
The so-called Nanteos Cup was reputed
to have healing powers and, according to
legend, was brought to England by Joseph of
Arimathea when he settled in Glastonbury.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries,
it was moved to Strata Florida Abbey near
Tregarnon, until finding its way to Nanteos
close by. It is tempting to imagine that the
1
cannon were intended to keep it safe.
The 24" bronze tapering five stage barrel has
a loop cascabel and pull-hammer
Important English Furniture 105
mechanism. Marked 1 and 2 respectively, the Provenance
two cannon are mounted on oak carriages William Edward Powell
with brass and iron fittings on wooden Nanteos Mansion, Aberystwyth, Cardiganshire.
wheels, complete with elevation checks and By Descent to Major & Mrs Mirylees (a
tompions (tompions replaced). distant relation of Edward Powell)
Private collection from 1967.
Philip Magreth, Curator of Artillery at The
Royal Armouries, Fort Nelson, Fareham has Reference
remarked on the interesting choice of firing 1
G. Morgan (ed.), Nanteos, A Welsh House &
mechanism which is experimental and its Families (2001),
shows a pioneering taste.
51747
English Circa 1840
Length 24" 61cm
Width 14" 35.5cm
Height 13" 33cm
106

A George III Wine Cooler of Impressive Proportions

The design of this mahogany cistern or example would have demanded a sideboard
wine cooler is taken from Renaissance urns of commensurate scale. The whole array
executed in bronze or marble, and these in would have been impressive to say the least.
turn were based on Roman marble originals.
The classical allusion would have been English Circa 1810
obvious to the first owner of this cooler, Width 33” 84cm
and to his guests. The traditional form is Depth 23½” 60cm
nevertheless brought up to date with the use Height 26” 66cm
of carved Greek-revival motifs on the socle
and the corrugations on the square plinth, 51763

which are all typical Regency features.

Wine cisterns were usually placed centrally

beneath the sideboard, and the present
Important English Furniture 107
108
A Gilt-wood Eagle Console Table
Attributed to William Bradshaw
Carved and gilt console tables in the
form of an eagle with splayed wings were
highly fashionable in grand neo-Palladian
apartments of the second quarter of the
eighteenth century, in both town and country
houses. Numerous variations survive, but
the treatment of the present example, with
fully splayed wings supporting the frieze, is
relatively unusual. Most versions have half-
spread wings with down-turned tips.
A pair of tables with splayed wings was
supplied by William Bradshaw for the
Tapestry Room at Chevening House in 1736,
‘2 Rich Carved and gilt Eagle Tables with
Frames and Bracketts fixt in the Country’,
£27 4s (Fig. 16). This difference apart, the
1
present table has much in common with
the Chevening pair, and it is highly likely
that this table too comes from Bradshaw’s
workshop. Among the shared features
are the style of carving of the eagle itself
(the body, feathers, head and talons); very
similar stylized console brackets at the sides;
the gadrooning at the bottom of the frieze
(which features in a slightly different form
at the top of the frieze on the Chevening
tables); and the flower-and-ribbon moulding
at the bottom (recurring on a smaller scale
at the bottom of the frieze on the Chevening
tables). Like the present example, the
Chevening tables are also carved in detail on
the back face of each eagle – a remarkable
treatment of a surface that would rarely
be seen. The client for whom the present
table was made has not been identified.
Several prominent patrons of Bradshaw are
recorded, however, including Frederick,
Prince of Wales, to whom he supplied goods
to the value of £1,312 in 1737 for a house in
St James’s Square.2
This table was probably also made as one
of a pair, with the eagles’ heads turned to
face each other, as on the Chevening pair
and numerous other examples. Such tables
Important English Furniture 109
110
were more often than not made in pairs,
but occasionally they were produced as
singletons, the head nevertheless facing
sideways. The Edinburgh wright (or joiner)
Francis Brodie, whose billhead features
an eagle table of this type, supplied single
examples on at least three occasions between
1738 and 1753 – to the Duke of Hamilton, the
Duke of Gordon and the Earl of Dumfries. 3
A single eagle table was also delivered by the
London firm of Bell & Moore, in 1734, to the
Solicitor-General (and later Chief Justice)
Dudley Ryder, almost certainly for the hall
of his house in Chancery Lane. Described as
4
‘an Eagle frame & Top Carved and Guilded
in burnished gold’, it evidently had a carved
and gilt top rather than a marble slab. It does
not survive, so we do not know whether
the eagle head faced sideways or forwards,
like those on an early pair of eagle tables
at Badminton House (which likewise have
carved and gilt tops). 5
English Circa 1735–40
Height 36” 91.5cm
Width 52” 132cm
Depth 27” 68.5cm
Fig. 16
Reference
1
Kent Record Office: U 1590, A20a. See H.
Avray Tipping, ‘Chevening – II. Kent, the seat
of Earl Stanhope’, Country Life, 24 April 1920,
pp. 548–56 (p. 552, fig. 7).
2
G. Beard and C. Gilbert (eds), Dictionary of
English Furniture Makers 1660—1840 (1986),
p. 100. The Prince of Wales accounts are in the
Duchy of Cornwall Record Office.
3
S. Pryke, ‘The extraordinary billhead of
Francis Brodie’, Regional Furniture, Vol. 4
(1990), pp.81—99 (p.86 and fig.12, the Dumfries
table of 1753). The Hamilton table may be one
now in the Royal Collection at Holyroodhouse
(RCIN 28203; see http://www.royalcollection.
org.uk/collection/28203/table). But see also
Francis Bamford, A Dictionary of Edinburgh
Wrights and Furniture Makers 1660—1840,
Furniture History, Vol.19 (1983), p.46.
Bamford attributes another set of tables to
Brodie on the analogy with the Holyrood
table, but the stylistic resemblance is fairly
generic (ibid., pl. 24B).
4
Harrowby Manuscripts, Sandon, Vol. 456,
Penates A – General, 5A Furniture – 1962.
The table cost £12 and was supplied with a
protective leather cover at 6 shillings. See also
Lucy Wood, The Upholstered Furniture in
the Lady Lever Art Gallery (2008), Vol. I, pp.
296–99 and notes 22, 23 and 34.
5
The Badminton tables were reportedly
supplied by John Phillips in 1731 for £40;
see A. Bowett, Early Georgian Furniture
1715—1750 (2009), p.228 and n.56, pl.5:55
(reference not cited but probably Badminton
Muniments, D2700/QJ3/3).
6
A. Oswald, ‘Hall Place – II, Maidenhead,
Berkshire, the seat of Lady Clayton East’,
Country Life, 12 March 1938, pp.272–77
(pp. 273–74, figs 3 and 5); later at Christie’s,
London, 23 May 1968, lot 124, ill. (the
property of the Lady Anne Tree, removed
from Mereworth, Kent).
7
J. Cornforth, ‘Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire
– II’, Country Life, 24 November 1988, pp.
82–85 (p.82, fig.1, the White Drawing Room);
Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire, Official Guide
(1995), pp.16–17.
Fig. 14 With thanks to the Chevening Trustees
for permission to reproduce an image of one
of the pair of tables from the Tapestry Room.
51633
 Important English Furniture 111

A George II Walnut &

Parcel-Gilt Mirror

This type of mirror was known in the 1730's

as a 'tabernacle' mirror, a term that originally
referred to architectural niches in which
to place a statue. As remarked by Adam
Bowett, 'the figure of the deity was replaced
by that of the viewer, seemingly without any
sense of irony.'

This example is veneered in the more

expensive burr walnut, selected for its highly
figured grain which was and is still highly
prized, and is now a golden colour.

The proportions of this mirror are also

noteworthy, for the ratio between height
and width and mirror plate to frame are
well balanced. The shape of the 'swan-neck'
pediment is also well drawn.

English Circa 1740

Width 31" 79cm
Height 59" 149cm

Reference
1
A. Bowett, Early Georgian Furniture 1715-
1740 (2009), pp. 294–95; see also ibid., plate
6:63 (a similar mirror from Apter-Fredericks’
archive).

51723
112

Acknowledgements

Daniel Brooke for photography

Jason Hopper from District-6.com for the

design and production of this brochure

Adam Bowett for his assistance

Phillip Shepherd for all his extra hours

© 2013 Apter-Fredericks Ltd.

 265-267 Fulham Road, London SW3 6HY, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7352 2188 Fax: +44 20 7376 5619 Email: antiques@apter-fredericks.com
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