Mackinnon Fine Furniture Catalogue III

MACKINNON

FINE FURNITURE

65INTRODUCTION

We are delighted to present our third annual printed catalogue highlighting a selection of the fine antique furniture currently available in our collection. Putting these catalogues together is a wonderful opportunity for us to share with you the discoveries of our full research and study of these exceptional pieces.

The monumental walnut bureau made for the Duke of Chandos is an outstanding piece of furniture both historically and in terms of quality. Other highlights include the exquisite pair of scarlet japanned armchairs by Giles Grendey from Lazcano Palace and the chinoiserie armchair from the Leopold Hirsch collection. The white painted mirror attributed to John Vardy is a tour de force of carving whilst the fabulous serpentine commode attributed to Ince & Mayhew is a true masterpiece of marquetry. The pair of commodes attributed to Pierre Langlois are also quite exceptional.

We have filled the pages with wonderful pieces of furniture all chosen for their individual merits – and whether it be the colour, patina, inlaid work, fascinating makers, or illustrious provenances – we hope you might find something to tempt you.

Fine antique furniture continues to capture the imagination, and we are delighted with the growing response and enthusiasm over the past year. We aim to reach as many of you as possible with a comprehensive programme of gallery exhibitions and antiques fairs, as well as our blog, newsletter, website, and several social media platforms. As always, you are welcome to visit the gallery at any time, and we would be delighted to show you the collection. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the catalogue.

Our summer exhibition will be entitled The Age of Walnut. Focusing on this particularly wonderful era of English cabinetmaking, the exhibition will encompass not only walnut but also superlative examples of marquetry, gilt-gesso, and japanned furniture. Bearing this in mind, please do remember that we are also always interested in acquiring fine pieces of furniture.

Thank you once again to May Geolot for her continual support and assistance.

Charlie Mackinnon Mackinnon Fine Furniture

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MACKINNON FINE FURNITURE

A PAIR OF GEORGE II MAHOGANY HALL CHAIRS

England, circa 1750

A very fine pair of George II mahogany hall chairs in the traditional sgabello form. Each chair with an elaborate cartouche shaped moulded back of concave form above a similarly shaped seat with dished roundel, the shaped front and rear legs joined by a stretcher.

Exceptional examples of their kind. The mahogany of particularly fine colour and patina, and of very impressive weight.

Height: 42 in (107 cm) Width: 19 in (48 cm) Depth: 20 in (51 cm)

The inspiration for the basic form of the hall chair comes from the Italian Renaissance sgabello seats, which were stools with a back support often carved and decorated with heraldic imagery and placed in the hallways of grand palazzos. In England, by the mid 18 th century, designs for hall chairs had appeared in Chippendale’s Director as well as other contemporary design books including Robert Manwaring’s The Chair-Maker’s Real Friend and Companion.

The plain backs of these chairs were often decorated with armorials or family crests. A closely related set of chairs was supplied to the Earl of Dumfries for Dumfries House by Alexander Peter in 1758 and remain in situ today. The painted decoration, in their case the Crichton crest encircled by the Collar of the Order of the Thistle, is known to have been completed by John Bonnar in 1759.

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MACKINNON FINE FURNITURE

A REGENCY ROSEWOOD DRUM TABLE

England, circa 1810

A very fine Regency rosewood circular drum table of very impressive scale and proportion. The table with a gilt tooled leather top crossbanded with rosewood, above eight drawers, four true and four false, supported by a triform pedestal and tripartite ormolu-mounted platform base with bold cast bronze lions paw feet and castors.

The rosewood of particularly good colour throughout.

Height: 30¼ in (77 cm) Diameter: 53¼ in (135 cm)

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A GEORGE II CARVED AND PAINTED MIRROR

In the manner of John Vardy England, circa 1750

An outstanding and highly important George II carved and white painted mirror in the manner of John Vardy. The exceptional frame flanked by female terms emanating from scrolling palms above fantastical bearded masks, the top surmounted by a wonderful mask surrounded by scrolling foliage and C-scrolls, the base of the frame with a waterfall pouring from a grotto, the whole profusely carved with flowers and foliage.

This rare and fantastical mirror reflects the transitional emergence of the rococo style in England, which developed in the wake of the restraint of the classical Palladian revival earlier in the 18 th century.

Height: 64½ in (164 cm) Width: 39½ in (100 cm)

Frontispiece for Some Desigsn of Mr Inigo Jones and Mr William Kent, 1744, engraved and published by John Vardy.

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A PAIR OF GEORGE III GILTWOOD ARMCHAIRS

Attributed to John Cobb England, circa 1770

An important pair of George III giltwood armchairs attributed to John Cobb. In the French taste, these exceptional chairs have magnificent gadrooned show-frames. The elegant cabriole legs similarly gadrooned and terminating in scroll toes with pad feet. The legs and arms further decorated with distinctive carved C-scroll motifs. The seat, back, and armrests are upholstered with silk damask.

Height: 35¾ in (91 cm) Width: 27 in (69 cm) Depth: 20 in (51 cm)

Comparative Literature Partridge Fine Art, Catalogue of Summer Exhibition 1974, pp. 106-107 offered an identical suite, comprising six armchairs and a settee, with the provenance of the De Souza Collection, Lisbon. L. Synge, Great English Furniture, 1991, pp. 8-9 for a related pair of chairs.

The distinctive gadrooned frames and finely carved knees of these chairs relate to a group of seat furniture traditionally attributed to the celebrated cabinetmaker John Cobb of St. Martin’s Lane, ‘upholsterer’ to George III from 1761.

Cobb was known to have supplied a closely related suite of six mahogany chairs together with a matching settee to Philip Yorke for Erddig, near Wrexham, which may still be viewed in the house today.

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MACKINNON FINE FURNITURE

A GEORGE III MARQUETRY SERPENTINE COMMODE

Attributed to Ince & Mayhew England, circa 1765

An exceptional and highly important George III ormolu and giltwood mounted serpentine marquetry commode attributed to Ince & Mayhew. The serpentine top centred with a rococo cartouche featuring exquisite floral marquetry on a yew-wood reserve, above a conforming frieze with a brushing slide fitted with an inset leather panel, the case centred by a pair of cupboard doors inlaid with a large cartouche surrounding a floral bouquet tied with a bow and flanked by husk swags and trailing foliage on a yew-wood reserve, the case with rounded canted corners featuring carved giltwood foliate C-scrolls, raised on an apron centred by an ormolu rocaille cartouche and standing on rounded bracket feet.

A masterpiece of 18 th century English marquetry.

Height: 33 in (84 cm) Width: 59 in (150 cm) Depth: 23¼ in (59 cm)

Provenance Hotspur Ltd., London Private Collection, USA

Literature N. Goodison and R. Kern, Hotspur: Eighty Years of Antique Dealing, London, 2004, pp. 224-25 (and illustrated on the cover).

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