Mallett Catalogue 2008

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:34 PM

Page 1

141 New Bond Street London W1 929 Madison Avenue at 74th Street New York 10021

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:34 PM

Page 2

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

4:45 PM

Page 3

LONDON

MALLETT

NEW YORK

The spectrum of ideas in European furniture is as fascinating as the character of our nations, reflecting perhaps the colours of climate, landscape and ethnic origins. The selection of recent acquisitions which we display here includes some of the extraordinary richness of fine furniture, in function, design and manufacture. From Ireland is a magnificent large dining table of spectacular solid West Indian mahogany (page 74). Apparently sober and somewhat understated, this is undeniably splendid and luxurious.

Very different is the rich drama of the giltwood side tables in the manner of Bonzanigo (page 4) which are Italian. These stand at the summit of grand Neo-Classical furniture, devised from the vocabulary of Greek and Roman Antiquity that united Europe in both intellect and fashion. These too are truly noble in execution and design.

A particularly interesting English commode, not known to the open market, though thoroughly documented by Lucy Wood, perhaps represents the epitome of English furniture (page 67). It clearly incorporates the refined and sifted influences of pattern and motifs from a wider European context.

This splendid mid-18th century piece is a great treasure. It is elegant, spectacular, stimulating in design, yet restrained; an emblem of Georgian furniture.

Culturally diverse and sophisticated, fine furniture is above all life-enhancing, made for use and lovely to live with.

Lanto Synge Chief Executive

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:34 PM

Page 4

LONDON

4

A PAIR OF SIDE TABLES IN THE MANNER OF BONZANIGO An important pair of late 18th century Piedmontese carved giltwood side tables with dark green malachite tops. Each having a frieze with a band of egg and dart carving above panels of scrolling leaves centred by a sunburst mask and hung at the front and sides with magnificent garlands of flowers; the tapering fluted legs joined by shaped stretchers and ending in acanthus feet.

In the manner of Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo.

Italy, circa 1780 Height: 361/4 in (92cm) Width: 44in (112cm) Depth: 243/4in (63cm) PROVENANCE

Formerly in the collection of the Earls of Rosebery at Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire.

Mentmore House sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co., 20 May 1977, lot 836.

Mallett and Son (Antiques) Ltd., 1993.

Private collection.

MALLETT

This magnificent pair of classical tables is attributed to the workshop of Italian craftsman, Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo (1745-1820). The decorative arts of Piedmont in the 18th century were strongly influenced by France, but the elaborate carving on these tables is distinctly Italian. Bonzanigo was born in Asti where his father and uncle worked as woodcarvers, specialising in elaborate cases for church organs. Bonzanigo was primarily a sculptor and his work is characterised by superbly detailed carved ornament.

The flowers, in particular, on these side tables are of the sharpest quality. Art historian Hugh Honour compares the “minute delicacy” of Bonzanigo’s work to that of an ivory carver.

The floral swags on the tables have affinities with those on the carved giltwood fire screen that Bonzanigo made in Turin for the King of Sardinia in 1775.

By 1773, Bonzanigo had settled in Turin and began to work for the court. During his long and distinguished career he established a position for himself as the finest exponent of NeoClassicism in Piedmont in the

A view of Mentmore Towers, illustrated in Mentmore, Volume One, Furniture, Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co., published by Raithby, Lawrence & Company Ltd., 1977, p. 342.

NEW YORK

field of carving and decoration.

He carried out many commissions for Vittorio Amedeo III and, in 1787, received the accolade of being named a Royal Sculptor. His work in the Palazzo Reale in Turin and also in the Royal apartments of the hunting lodge at Stupinigi may be related to these particular side tables.

Russian carvers and gilders in the late 18th century were greatly influenced by Italian and German workshops. Giltwood side tables with green malachite tops at the Ostankino Palace in the northern part of Moscow show marked similarities with this pair. They may also be related to tables at the Pavlovsk Palace, which was built around 1780 just south east of St. Petersburg as a country residence of the Russian Imperial Family.

The provenance of Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire, places these side tables in one of the most outstanding collections of art, with a fascinating history.

The contents of the house were sold through Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co. over an astonishing nine days, from 18th May to 27th

The Blue Hall of the Ostankino Palace, Moscow, illustrated in Irina Semionova, Ostankino, EighteenthCentury Country Estate, Aurora Art Publishers, Leningrad, 1981, colour plate 32.

May, in 1977. It was one of the first highly publicised, recordbreaking English country house sales.

Mentmore was designed by the architect Joseph Paxton for Baron and Baroness de Rothschild as a house close to London. The house and its contents were inherited by their daughter Hannah, later Countess of Rosebery and her husband Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery. Following the death of their son, the 6th Earl, in 1973, the Labour government refused to accept the contents in lieu of inheritance taxes and the executors of the estate sold the contents by auction for over £6,000,000. The Rothschild / Mentmore collection is said to have been one of the finest ever assembled in private hands; comparable to the collections of the Russian and British Royal Families.

ILLUSTRATED

Lanto Synge, Mallett Millenium, Antique Collectors' Club, London, 1999, p. 160, fig. 196.

F2I0439

A similar side table by Bonzanigo, illustrated in Hugh Honour, Cabinet Makers and Furniture Designers, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1969, p. 184.

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:34 PM

Page 5

5

Mallett Autumn 2008

6

9/23/08

12:34 PM

Page 6

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:34 PM

Page 7

7

Mallett Autumn 2008

8

9/23/08

12:34 PM

Page 8

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:34 PM

Page 9

LONDON

AN INDO-DUTCH EBONY ARMCHAIR A late 17th century Indo-Dutch ebony armchair of small-scale with elaborate carved decoration throughout. The whole stands on square and spiral-turned legs joined by peripheral stretchers and ending in bun feet.

India, circa 1690 Back height: 131/2in (34cm) Seat height: 281/4 in (72cm) Width: 21in (53cm) Depth: 201/2in (52cm) Carved ebony chairs were made throughout South East Asia during the second half of the 17th century, particularly along the Coromandel Coast of India, Indonesia and Ceylon.

This low armchair is very likely to have been made on the Coromandel Coast and this type of furniture appears frequently in the inventories of the VOC (Dutch East India Company) settlements, where it is described as 'Coast' furniture.

F2F0176 B

A REGENCY TILT-TOP GAMES TABLE An early 19th century tilt-top painted chess table, the board is enriched with armorial motifs surrounded by an elaborate naturalistically painted foliate border. The top rises to reveal a hidden games compartment and is supported on a giltwood column stem standing on a tripod plinth terminating in pad feet.

England, circa 1830 Height: 29in (74cm) Width: 21in (53cm) Depth: 21in (53cm) F2I0094

MALLETT

NEW YORK

9

Mallett Autumn 2008

10

9/23/08

12:35 PM

Page 10

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:36 PM

Page 11

LONDON

A GEORGE III BALLOONSHAPED BRACKET CLOCK A late 18th century painted satinwood clock. The figured satinwood and tulipwood crossbanded ebony and boxwood strung veneered balloon-shaped case is surmounted by an urn finial, all painted en grisaille with a musical trophy. The sides are painted respectively with ribbontied oak leaf swags and vine leaves, egg and dart, pearl beading, stiff leaves and patera ornament. The white enamelled dial is signed “Upjohn/Bond Street/London”, the foliate and flower engraved brass backplate to the movement is signed “James” and the reverse door has an open fret panel.

England, circa 1795 Height: 26in (66cm) Width: 13in (33cm) Depth: 9in (22.5cm) LITERATURE

Cf: Roger Smith, 'Benjamin Vulliamy's painted satinwood clocks and Pedestals', Apollo Magazine, June 1995, pp. 25-33.

A+

MALLETT

The movement of this interesting bracket clock is signed by James Upjohn, who is possibly recorded as being apprenticed in 1766. He became a member of the Clock Makers' Company in 1781 and a member of the Livery in 1790 before leaving for America in 1802.

A James Upjohn is also recorded at Threadneadle Street, 1760-63, and in Lombard Street, 1779, and the firm of James Upjohn and Wirgman is recorded at 18 Red Lion Street, 1780-91, and as James & Company in 1794. The veneered case of the clock with its decoration en grisaille can with certainty be attributed to the cabinet-maker Thomas Brownley and the decorative painter John Bromley (fl. 17681803) who supplied Benjamin Vulliamy with cases of identical profile to this piece, differing only in the form of the vase finial and the detail of the decoration.

The first reference to these makers appears in Vulliamy's day book and clock book of 1798, which records the making of number 315, “a large eight day long clock” with an “organ which

NEW YORK

plays tunes three times over”.

This was “contained in a very fine satinwood case inlaid with different sorts of woods. The middle and lower doors are also painted in the best manner”.

Brownley, who is named as maker of the case, which cost £19. 10s, was almost certainly the Thomas Brownley of 68 King Street, Golden Square, who is recorded at this address between 1791-1811, at which date he was succeeded by his son. He is also recorded in Vulliamy's ledgers as supplying other items ranging from ebony rods for pendulums to inlaid mahogany doors for William Beckford in 1800.

The door of the aforementioned clock which was “painted in the best manner” appears to have been the work of John Bromley, “a coach, sign, and house painter”. Bromley was a freeman of the Stainers Company who was recorded at 26 Great Queen Street in 1796.

He is noted in Vulliamy's clock book as being paid “£2. 12. 6. for painting an oval depicting Apollo and the twelve signs, £1. 11s. 6d. for a lyre, and £1. 16s. 0d. for

four snakes for no. 315”.

The work of Brownley and Bromley is comprehensively discussed by Roger Smith in ‘Benjamin Vulliamy's painted satinwood clocks and Pedestals’, the design and detail of the decoration of the illustrated clock cases and pedestals clearly showing that the present clock can be firmly attributed to them.

In particular, Smith illustrates a clock of identical profile, fig. 5, but with a slightly different finial. Purchased by the Bank of England in 1794, at a cost of 60 gns., it is supported on a pedestal, its decoration being clearly related. Another example, supported on a wall bracket, again has a different finial but related decoration (see: C. Claxton Stevens and Stewart Whittington, 18th Century English Furniture The Norman Adams Collection, 1985, pp. 468469). It is interesting to note that the brass bezel of this and the present clock is identical, as is the form of the numbering on the enamel faces.

O2I0476

11

Mallett Autumn 2008

12

9/23/08

12:36 PM

A PAIR OF FLEMISH LEATHER PANELS A pair of mid-18th century Flemish leather panels decorated with chinoiserie figures including court figures, a musician, fisherman, warrior and artist, all set within a bucolic landscape with pavilions.

Low Countries, circa 1750 Framed height: 523/4in (134cm) Framed width: 243/4in (63cm) F2H0247

Though North African in origin, the fashion for decorative leather panels was developed and made popular in Spain, and spread from there to the Netherlands and beyond. In Anvers there are dated panels by Valentijn Kle from as early as 1500. However the most famous firm was Vermeulen and they were founded in 1612 and only closed in 1797. Leather work designs followed fashion. In the early 17th century textiles were the inspiration, this gave way to the Baroque and subsequently the more open style we associate with the Rococo. Towards the end of the 18th century leather panels declined in production quality and the popularity of the style faded, so one rarely sees panels in the Neo-Classical style.

The distinctive character of the decoration of leather derives from a mixture of manufacturing requirements and artistic choice.

The best material was calf leather, which was then ‘tanned’ and prepared into ‘Samsons’ (square panels). These were then silvered and lacquered on one side. This provided a ground for decoration and protected the hide from deterioration. What we see as gilding was actually coloured varnishes on the silver.

The ‘Samsons’ were then stamped, punched, painted and lacquered.

The colours were always vegetable dyes as mineral ones corrupted the panel.

Page 12

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:36 PM

Page 13

쑯

A FINE PAIR OF REGENCY CARVED GILTWOOD CONVEX MIRRORS A pair of early 19th century convex mirrors, each with a carved bow and ribbon suspending a concave moulded giltwood frame, set with gilt balls and an ebonised slip, the mirror frame crested by an eagle clutching a serpent, the apron with a carved bow sprouting upright fronds to a wreath and pendent tassels, the sides with original brass twin candle arms.

Each with original convex mirror plate.

England, circa 1805 Height: 521/2in (133cm) Width: 33in (84cm) Depth: 101/4 in (26cm) A+ The Empire circular convex mirror was introduced from France, where they had been made as early as 1756. This style of mirror became so popular under the heading ‘Mirrors’, in Sheraton’s Cabinet Dictionary (1803), that they are the only style mentioned. Convex mirrors were said to “strengthen the colour and take off the coarseness of objects by contracting them”. The delicate and finely carved mounts and the particularly close distribution of the gilt balls set along the borders of these mirrors, would suggest they was made within the first few years of the 19th century.

LITERATURE

R. Philips. Reflections of the Past: Mirrors 1685-1815, Beacon Press, London, 2004.

R. Fastnedge, Regency furniture 1795-1830, R. MacLehose and Company Ltd., 1965, p. 94.

F2I0529

13

Mallett Autumn 2008

14

9/23/08

12:36 PM

Page 14

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:36 PM

Page 15

15

Mallett Autumn 2008

16

9/23/08

12:37 PM

Page 16

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:37 PM

Page 17

LONDON

A JAPANNED SIDE CABINET An unusual William IV japanned side cabinet decorated throughout with gilt and polychrome chinoiserie with mother-of-pearl insets, all achieved in fine detail. The top is bordered with a chinoiserie edge and is supported by rounded brackets at the corners.

The sides and front are doors, which open to reveal further gilt chinoiserie on a black ground.

The whole standing on a block plinth with stepped serrations.

England, circa 1835 Height: 33in (84cm) Width: 53in (135cm) Depth: 17in (43cm) F2I0348 B

MALLETT

NEW YORK

17

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:37 PM

Page 18

LONDON

18

A NAPOLEON III BRONZE AND GRANITE GUÉRIDON A late 19th century French neoclassical bronze guéridon, the circular granite top is supported by three column legs each having a winged mask at the capital and claw feet at the base. Each element is cast in fine detail.

Attributed to Ferdinand Barbedienne.

France, circa 1890 Height: 271/2in (70cm) Diameter: 261/2in (67cm)

B

A GLASS MODEL OF A SHIP IN A DOME A good example of a lamp-work glass boat made out of green, white and clear thin glass rods.

The main ship has three masts and six blue and white glass sailors in the rigging. The ship has suspended from its sides three lifeboats. Before the main ship are two small luggers in turquoise, white and clear with red sails.

England, circa 1880 Height: 18in (46cm) Width: 243/4in (63cm) Depth: 101/2in (27cm) O2F0126 C

MALLETT

Ferdinand Barbedienne (18101892) began his Paris foundry in 1839 and eventually became one of the most important and prolific bronziers of the 19th century. Although trained as a wallpaper manufacturer, in 1838 he changed his profession to become a fondeur in partnership with Achilles Collas. The Barbedienne workshops were equipped to perform bronze reduction, fine metal cutting, bronze mounting, marble work, turning, enamel decoration and crystal engraving. The firm was celebrated for bronze editions, but also produced decorative objects in styles that reflected the various exotic and revival trends popular at the time.

NEW YORK

Barbedienne pioneered the use of mounts and, more commonly, bronze sculpture including figures and animals. He produced catalogues of bronze reproductions of Greek and Roman Classical sculpture and experimented with champlevé and cloissoné enamels during the third quarter of the century.

The Barbedienne firm’s work was shown to wide acclaim at all of the most important international exhibitions of the second half of the 19th century, winning numerous medals at the major international exhibitions. In 1850 Barbedienne was commissioned to furnish the Paris town hall for which he was awarded the ‘medaille d’honneur’

at the Paris Exhibition in 1855.

The Barbedienne foundry employed up to three hundred skilled labourers, handling the casting of numerous national monuments and architectural schemes. Ferdinand Barbedienne himself also took an active part in the promotion of contemporary sculpture and became one of the founders for Davis d’Anders’ medallions as well as much of François Rude’s sculpture.

After Ferdinand’s death in 1892, the business was taken over by his nephew, LeblancBarbedienne, and continued production until 1953.

F2G0204

Mallett Autumn 2008

10/1/08

9:22 AM

Page 19

19

Mallett Autumn 2008

20

9/23/08

12:37 PM

Page 20

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:38 PM

Page 21

LONDON

MALLETT

NEW YORK

21

SIR ALFRED MUNNINGS The White Canoe Signed Oil on panel Unframed: 20 x 24in (50.8 x 60.9cm) Framed: 261/2 x 301/2in (67.3 x 77.5cm) LITERATURE

Sir Alfred Munnings, The Finish, 1952.

Soon after his marriage, Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959) painted at least four pictures of his wife Violet, or Violet and a friend, in a white Canadian canoe on the River Stour at Dedham. The composition of the two later paintings is similar to the present picture but the light has a less autumnal hue than here. The smaller of these two was exhibited at the 1924 Royal Academy exhibition, and a larger version at the International Exhibition at Pittsburgh in the same year. There are five larger versions of the present picture with almost identical compositions, the first being painted in 1937 or 1938. They

were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1940 (titled: Drifting); 1944 and 1946 (The White Canoe); 1948 (September Afternoon); 1953 (The White Canoe); and 1956 (RA catalogue: September Afternoon, 1939 Version No. 4; probably the same painting as in 1948). One version (40 x 50 inches) is illustrated in The Finish and includes Munnings’s comment that this was: “My last painting in the early autumn [1939] before the war started.” The present, smaller picture was painted in 1938 according to Penelope Bellfield seen holding the parasol.

Penelope appears in every ‘parasol’ picture, but in all later

versions Munnings used earlier studies since Penelope was in France by 1939. The girl behind her, paddling, is most probably Mary Baynham. The Bellfield and Baynham families lived at the opposite ends of the Long Road in Dedham and knew Alfred and Violet Munnings well. The models in the larger paintings were combinations of Penelope and her brother, Eversley Bellfield, and Mary and her brother Peter Baynham, and a Susan Atterbury whose family lived outside Dedham.

P2I0198

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/24/08

10:04 AM

Page 22

LONDON

22

MALLETT

A LOUIS XIV BEAUVAIS TAPESTRY PANEL

A PAIR OF DECALCOMANIA VASES AND A SINGLE A pair of mid-19th century decalcomania vases and covers of baluster shape, profusely decorated with polychrome chinoiseries set against a cream ground.

France, circa 1860

NEW YORK

Height: 163/4in (42.5cm)

A very large-scale Victorian decalcomania vase decorated on a pale-green ground with polychrome chinoiserie, on the front face a vignette of a family group and on the back with a key patterned bordered scene of courtesans.

England, circa 1850

O2I0479

Height: 251/4in (64cm)

An early 18th century Beauvais tapestry panel depicting a flower-filled urn, with exotic birds, within a red ground border with scrolling foliage crowned by a mask.

France, circa 1720 Framed height: 373/4in (96cm) Framed width: 28in (71.5cm) T2H0544

O2F0123

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:38 PM

Page 23

LONDON

MALLETT

NEW YORK

23

Mallett Autumn 2008

24

9/23/08

12:38 PM

Page 24

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:39 PM

Page 25

LONDON

A RED LACQUER CABINET ON STAND A fine quality early 18th century red japanned cabinet. Each panel is decorated with fantastical gilt landscapes of traditional types.

The sides are decorated on one side with an exotic bird and on the other with a landscape, the interior of the door with animals and an acrobat. The drawers are enriched with genre scenes. The cabinet stands on a Regency gilt stand carved to simulate an early 18th century stand.

England, the stand circa 1820, the cabinet circa 1730 Height: 713/4in (182cm) Width: 413/4in (106cm) Depth: 213/4in (55cm)

A++ - Cover?

Sally researching

MALLETT

Lacquer-ware was first imported into Europe by the Portuguese from Japan at the end of the 16th century. However, in the 17th century, Japan was almost completely banned from trading with the West and importation of goods from the Far East was exceedingly expensive.

European craftsmen were keen to meet consumer demand for these exotic goods and so strove to imitate Chinese and Japanese designs and techniques, particularly lacquer-ware.

Chinese and Japanese lacquers were usually black and gold. To European taste the black background was limiting and coloured backgrounds became much sought after. Coloured japanning for different backgrounds, together with patterns and

NEW YORK

designs were formulated and patented; in England by Stalker & Parker in 1688 and in Paris by the Martin brothers - hence the term vernis Martin – in the 1740s and 1750s. In England the most popular colour for the background was red and good quantities of this furniture was made. These colours were fashionable in the first period of japanning in England until the early 1730s and then again in the 1760s and 1770s.

Stalker and Parker’s publication of 1688 illustrates just a small number of the great variety of patterns which inspired artists.

Talented craftsmen took the designs further, adding their own individual characteristics to a familiar form.

The japanning on this lacquer

cabinet is richly embellished with chinoiserie decoration typical of the early 18th century. More exceptional is the asymmetrical design on the sides of the cabinet and the black mountains as these are both elements common to Japanese, as opposed to Chinese decoration. The original, robust brass mounts are clearly European in origin and the traditional cabinet on stand form is very much in the English grand manner. Interestingly, although the stand is essentially 18th century in form and decoration, the purplish tinge to the bole and the wide spaced cross-hatching would suggest that it was in fact produced during the Regency period specifically for this cabinet.

F2H0538

25

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:39 PM

Page 26

LONDON

26

A SET OF TEN FLEMISH LEATHER PANELS A set of ten mid-18th century Dutch leather panels, each decorated with flowers, birds or theatrical items.

Low Countries, circa 1750 Framed height: 181/4in (46.5cm) Framed width: 231/2in (60cm) For a discussion of leather work from The Netherlands, please turn to page 12.

P2I0498

MALLETT

NEW YORK

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:39 PM

Page 27

LONDON

MALLETT

NEW YORK

27

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/29/08

11:49 AM

Page 28

LONDON

MALLETT

NEW YORK

28

WILLIAM TOMKINS ARA A wooded landscape with two men driving cattle along a sandy path Signed with initials “W.T.” and dated 1767 Oil on canvas Tondo diameter: 271/2in (70cm) Framed : 33 x 33in (83.8 x 83.8cm) William Tomkins (1730-1792) was born in London, and is best known for being one of the first generation of English painters of the picturesque view, though he also painted occasional animal pictures and still-lives. His style

is a development of the earlier ‘bird's eye’ view tradition of landscape painting, and uses a lower point of view where the emphasis is on strict topographical accuracy. His paintings are therefore of the utmost historical interest, and are seldom sullied by the ‘romanticisation’ of the succeeding generation of English landscape painters who placed considerations of composition ahead of literal accuracy. At this date (1767) he painted a number of landscapes in Hampshire, including several views for the Earl De La Warr, including Bolderview Lodge in the New Forest (1769).

Tomkins was an Associate of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, but seems to have been itinerant throughout the whole British Isles. Paintings by him from places as far apart as Cornwall and the Highlands of Scotland were abundantly exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Society of Artists, though he seems to have had a penchant for painting in the West Country. Numerous views of the area are known, including a view of Plympton (RA 1780) and a set of four views of Tapeley Park. He seems to have been patronised by the highest levels of local society, and is recorded as working for Lord

Clifford (1772), Viscount Lisburne (1773), Joseph Parker at Saltram (1772, now National Trust), Sir Charles Kyme Tynte (1771), Henry Luttrell at Dunster (1773) and many other major landowners.

He emerges as one of the most favoured painters of landscapes and Gentlemen's Seats of the 18th century. The present painting is unusual in his oeuvre both on account of its shape, and also because it is a ‘pure’ landscape rather than a view of a building in a landscape.

P2I0429

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:39 PM

Page 29

LONDON

A GEORGE II GILTWOOD SIDE TABLE An important early 18th century giltwood side table, the breche violette marble top with straight edge above a stop fluted giltwood frieze, the apron is centred by a lion’s mask issuing oak leaf and acorn swags and with foliate and shell cartouches on a punched ground. The cabriole legs are surmounted by scrolling acanthus, terminating in boldly carved paw and ball feet.

England, circa 1730 Height: 341/4 in (87cm) Width: 721/4 in (183.5cm) Depth: 361/4 in (92cm)

MALLETT

The magnificent giltwood side table here offered by Mallett is an example of Baroque giltwood furniture. A key feature of great English houses of the first half of the 18th century was grand interiors fitted out with largescale Classical architectural features derived partly from the great temples of Classical Antiquity and partly from the Baroque Mannerist churches of Rome. Alongside this, promoting it and adding to it with his essential decorative flourish was William Kent (1686-1748), who was encouraged by his royal and aristocratic patrons to become the first interior decorator.

Following the architectural foundations in style advocated

by Andrea Palladio and Inigo

NEW YORK

Jones, Kent used motifs in his interiors with an overall unity of design. As a result, furniture of the 1730s is more architectural, monumental, noble, ornate and seldom whimsical. Motifs reflect a serious grandeur, with pediments, architectural mouldings, columns, large shells, and animals such as lions and dolphins. The quiet elegance of the Queen Anne period and gentle ornament of the George I period were replaced by unapologetic, massive, sculptural forms within the context of Palladian Classicism.

This was an age of confidence, fanfare and social parades.

Kent based his patterns on Roman forms with classical masks, eagles, the heads of gods

and goddesses and sea references. Grand side tables were also used as sideboards in dining rooms, and they are often decorated with references to Antiquity’s Feast of Bacchus.

One notable example is Kent’s design for a strongly architectural table with bacchic mask and cornucopia that was commissioned for Houghton Hall, Norfolk, circa 1730. The table still remains in the house and may be closely related to the Mallett example. The lion’s head mask, shells and heavy acorn leaf swags on the side table at Mallett, are all typical emblems of the period.

A table with a lapis lazuli top designed by William Kent in the White Drawing-Room at Houghton Hall, illustrated in John Cornforth, Early Georgian Interiors, published by Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2004, p. 162.

The table shown at Chicheley Hall, John Cornforth, ‘Chicheley Hall, Buckinghamshire’, Country Life, 15 April 2004, p. 125, fig. 2, (detail).

Image courtesy of Country Life.

F2H0542

PROVENANCE

By repute Ronald and Nancy Tree either at Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire, or Mereworth, Kent. Passed to the Beatty family through Ronald Tree’s mother, Ethel Field of Chicago, whose second husband was the 1st Earl Beatty, the previous owner’s grandfather.

By descent to the Hon Nicholas Beatty, Chicheley Hall, Buckinghamshire.

ILLUSTRATED

J. Cornforth, ‘Chicheley Hall, Buckinghamshire’, Country Life, 15 April 2004, page 125, figure 2.

Chicheley Hall, Buckinghamshire, illustrated in Charles Latham, In English Homes, Volume II, 1907, p. 153.

A+++

William Kent’s drawing of the table with a lapis lazuli top at Houghton Hall, designed by himself, illustrated in John Cornforth, Early Georgian Interiors, published by Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2004, p. 162.

29

Mallett Autumn 2008

30

9/23/08

12:39 PM

Page 30

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:40 PM

Page 31

31

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/29/08

11:41 AM

Page 32

LONDON

32

MALLETT

NEW YORK

A BRASS TRIVET WITH ENGRAVED SCROLLWORK

A SET OF TWELVE REGENCY MAHOGANY ARMCHAIRS

A mid-18th century brass and steel rococo trivet; the pierced serpentine frieze centred on a coat of arms and a pair of crossed swords.

England, circa 1760

A set of twelve Regency mahogany armchairs with square caned backs with gilt decoration and scrolled toprail and low-rail decorated with double volute apron. Upholstered seats and straight arms with scrolled terminals decorated with palms, on turned tapering reeded legs headed by paterae.

Height: 17in (43cm) Width: 231/2in (60cm) Depth: 101/2in (27cm) F2H0147

One chair with paper label inscribed “Snr. Marquesa de Fan...”, another chair with pencil inscription to back seat-rail “Queilliada”, two chairs inscribed on back seat-rail “26018”, several chairs stamped with letters.

England, circa 1830 Height: 351/4 in (89.5cm) Seat height: 151/2in (39cm) Width: 221/2in (57.5cm) Depth: 231/2in (60cm) A+ These chairs are a fine synthesis of the Regency vocabulary. It is possible to identify among its features different sources and influences from the leading designers of the period: George Smith in the chair profile, specifically of its back, Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, 1808; Peter and Michael Angel Nicholson’s The Practical Cabinet Maker, 1826, in the Grecian scroll motifs of the lambrequin in the back; or even the distinctive reeded leg profile close to a set of chairs attributed to George Bullock, which belonged to the Portuguese ambassador, the 1st Duke of Palmella.

F2H0543

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:40 PM

Page 33

33

Mallett Autumn 2008

34

9/29/08

11:55 AM

Page 34

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/29/08

11:55 AM

Page 35

35

Mallett Autumn 2008

36

9/29/08

12:01 PM

Page 36

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:41 PM

Page 37

LONDON

A CHINESE EXPORT TABLE A very rare and unusual Chinese export folding lacquer and bamboo tea table. The stand is constructed from finely wrought sections of bamboo, the upper frieze having pierced ornament.

The bamboo itself is painted to enhance its appearance with stylised cloud patterns. Each element is numbered in both Chinese and English. The top is of fine quality black and gold lacquer and has a carved simulated bamboo gallery.

Inspired by Sir William Chambers.

China, circa 1790 Height: 32in (81cm) Width: 32in (81cm) Depth: 21in (53cm)

Sir William Chambers’ Designs for Chinese Buildings, Furniture, Dresses, etc (published in 1757 after he visited China in his youth), heavily influenced the interior decorative schemes of Brighton Pavilion. These interiors were designed by the firm of John Crace & Sons, who the Prince Regent hired to give the Pavilion a “Chinese look”.

Originally it was furnished in 1802 with real bamboo acquired

by Crace, possibly through the cargoes of Dr James Garrett.

Garrett was an agent employed previously by the Prince at Carlton House to buy a variety of Oriental objects and decorations directly from China. The London firm of Elward, Marsh and Tatham were also commissioned at the same time, to make a large amount of furniture in beech simulating bamboo. In some cases these pieces incorporated real bamboo, Chinese lacquer panels and rattan fretwork into their designs.

MALLETT

In addition two tables with similar richly decorated bamboo friezes and legs are housed in the Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm Palace, which is the largest residence of the Swedish Royal Family near Stockholm. The Pavilion was a birthday present to Queen Lovisa Ulrica from her husband King Adolf Fredrik on her 33rd birthday in 1753. Less than a decade later, the royal architect, Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz, was commissioned to build a new “China” and this is the pavilion which still stands. It has been described as “[a]n exquisite and unique monument to the passion for ‘the Chinese taste’ which swept through 18th century Europe, an extremely charming blend of the genuinely Chinese and of Swedish Rococo, with touches of Classicism, of Frenchinspired chinoiserie and ‘Chinese’ furnishings based on contemporary English prints.”

During the 18th century

NEW YORK

attempts were made to create a convincing Chinese interior by using lacquer screens and wall coverings but the use of authentic Chinese furniture was rare. Two exceptions are bamboo tables in the Bedchamber and the Ante-room to the Cabinet on the upper floor. One is rectangular and the other one has an octagonal frieze. The tops are both of black lacquer with no decoration, the legs of natural bamboo while the frieze is more ornate. In both tables the joining is done entirely by wooden pegs and plugs, and the round table has folding legs. This type of furniture is wholly Chinese, but could very well have been used in 18th century exotic interiors.

Bamboo furniture is to be found in several other Chinese milieux in Sweden, such as Godegård and Värnanäsm.

The round table is illustrated in Äke Setterwall (with other contributions), The Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm,

Allhems Förlag Malmö, Sweden, 1974, p. 145.

LITERATURE

Äke Setterwall (with other contributions), The Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm, Allhems Förlag Malmö, Sweden, 1974.

Clifford Musgrave, Royal Pavilion: An Episode in the Romantic, published by Leonard Hill [Books] Limited, London, 1959.

Gervase Jackson-Stops, John Nash: Views of the Royal Pavilion, published by Pavilion Books Limited, London, 1991.

F2H0554

37

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:41 PM

Page 38

LONDON

MALLETT

NEW YORK

38

A RED AND WHITE CHESS SET AND BOARD

A BOHEMIAN CHANDELIER

A fine early 19th century chess set in the manner of Lund, of impressive scale, in red and white on a rosewood and satinwood board.

England, circa 1840

An unusual and charming Bohemian gilt bronze and opaline two-tier fourteen branch chandelier. Each tier is fashioned as a gilt basket with leaves and branches issuing forth. The leaves are gilt-enriched green glass and the lower tier has opaline lily candle socles and the upper tier peonies. There are subsidiary flowers intertwining throughout.

Bohemia, circa 1880

Dimensions of board: 26 x 26in (66 x 66cm) Height of king: 5in (13cm) O2I0420 B+

Height: 33in (84cm) Diameter: 33in (84cm) L2H0366

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:41 PM

Page 39

39

Mallett Autumn 2008

40

9/23/08

12:41 PM

Page 40

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:43 PM

Page 41

LONDON

A QUEEN ANNE CONCERTINA ACTION CARD TABLE An exceptional early 18th century walnut and burr elm concertina action card table; the shaped top is crossbanded and has herringbone inlay borders. The surface lifts to reveal a baize-lined interior with candle stands and guinea wells, the frieze is similarly crossbanded with herringbone inlay. The whole is raised on circular tapering legs with carved stylish leaf capitals and terminate in pad feet.

England, circa 1715

MALLETT

NEW YORK

쑯

A PAIR OF CHINESE ARMCHAIRS A pair of early 19th century lacquer armchairs, each with a cylindrical scrolled crest-rail above a central ‘S’ curved backsplat painted with gold lacquered cranes flying over pavilions in a watery landscape amid rocky outcroppings, the solid panel seat with a central foliate medallion, the apron embellished with angular, scrolling openwork, all raised on rectangular legs joined by low stretchers.

China, circa 1800

Height: 273/4in (70cm) Width: 35in (89cm) Depth: 173/4in (45cm)

Back height: 39in (99cm) Seat height: 193/4in (50cm) Width: 24in (61cm) Depth: 191/4 in (49cm)

F2I0006

PROVENANCE

Estate of Ruth Meyer Epstein.

AThe extent of embellishment, in the form of decorative openwork to the cresting-rails, the armrails and the apron, render these chairs a particularly fine example of Qing Dynasty furniture. The Qing Dynasty lasted from 1644 until 1911, but reached its peak during the era of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795); its special style relating to the prosperity of the Kangxi-Qianlong periods.

Qing armchairs were of a new form, the designs evolving from low-back beds and thrones, with a screen form back. The back panels and armrests were always at right angles to the seat. They were usually placed either side of a tea table in a hall and in most important homes a square table in the main room would be flanked by Qing armchairs, where they would be used to receive important guests.

F2I0379

41

Mallett Autumn 2008

42

9/23/08

12:43 PM

Page 42

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:43 PM

Page 43

43

Mallett Autumn 2008

44

9/23/08

12:43 PM

Page 44

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:43 PM

Page 45

A WILLIAM IV AMBOYNA BOOKCASE

A REGENCY MUSIC STAND

An early 19th century amboyna veneered double-sided bookcase, the ends with false book backs, the top and base with gilt enrichments, all standing on bun feet.

England, circa 1825

The music rest is of elaborately shaped outline and decorated with fantastical gilt vignettes of a musical theme. The gilt lattice fence rest raises to form a continuous decoration with the back. The whole stands on an ebonised baluster stem set with neo-classical lacquered brass mounts, standing on a concave-sided tripod plinth similarly decorated.

England, circa 1810

Height: 361/2in (93cm) Width: 353/4in (91cm) Depth: 193/4in (50cm)

AAmboyna was first used in England during the early 18th century. There is a dressing and writing table of inlaid amboyna at the Victoria and Albert Museum that dates from the Queen Anne period. However, it became particularly fashionable at the turn of the 19th century and is most closely associated with furniture from the Sheraton and Regency periods. The amboyna tree is native to the East Indies, west of New Guinea, and in particular to the island of Seram (also called Seran and Serang and formerly spelt 'Ceram') from where its exceedingly beautiful and highly ornamental burls were once shipped to Europe. (Dutch trading posts were opened in the early 17th century and the island came under nominal Dutch control circa 1650.) The ordinary trunkwood from this tree was not commercially popular and so the more valuable burls are simply termed amboyna wood.

F2H0274

Height: 523/4in (134cm) Width: 153/4in (40cm) F2I0024 A-

45

Mallett Autumn 2008

46

9/23/08

12:43 PM

Page 46

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:43 PM

A SWISS CARVED CONSOLE TABLE A most unusual late 19th century Swiss carved walnut console table. This takes the form of a naturalistically carved tree with a fox at the base and a crow at the top with a piece of cheese in its mouth, illustrating an Aesop fable.

Now having a yew wood demi-lune top.

Marked in the back “T. J.” Switzerland, circa 1880 Height: 373/4in (96cm) Width: 311/2in (80cm) Depth: 141/4 in (36cm) C

Page 47

This type of Swiss carving was and still is frequently referred to as Black Forest carving since it is thought to have been made in that region of Bavaria.

Nonetheless, the wood carving industry originated in Brienz in the early 1800s by the lake with the same name in Berne canton.

Driven by tourism, the industry then grew significantly.

During the 19th century these charming pieces gained a large following in Europe and in the US, as the International Exhibitions of London (1851), Chicago (1893) and Paris (1900) played an important role in the development of this particular type of carving. One of the best examples of the adoption of this taste is the Swiss Chalet, which Victoria and Albert erected at Osborne House for their children.

Brought from Switzerland piece by piece, it was furnished and decorated with Swiss carvings.

From sculptures to cuckoo clocks, the variety of pieces and motifs in Swiss carvings was immense. Nevertheless our table is very unusual due to its narrative quality, representing one of Aesop’s fables, The Fox and the Crow. This fable tells the story of a crow who finds a piece of cheese. When a fox sees him ready to eat it, he approaches, starts to flatter the crow and so convinces him to sing. With his ego duly inflated, the crow begins to caw. When it opens its beak, the cheese falls and is devoured by the fox.

F2I0008

쑯

A COLLECTION OF 19TH CENTURY BRASS DOORSTOPS Left hand page, from left to right: In the shape of a swan Height: 15in (38cm) O2I0190 The base cast as a lotus flower Height: 141/4 in (36cm) O2I0509 The base in the form of a fox head Height: 16in (40.5cm) O2G0103 The stem with a scrolled handle Height: 173/4in (45cm) O2I0504 The stem with a rope twist Height: 201/4 in (51.5cm) O2I0115

Right hand page, from left to right: The base as a dolphin and with a twin dolhin handle Height: 223/4in (58cm) O2I0535 The base in the form of a griffin Height: 153/4in (40cm) O2I0293 The base as facing scrolls Height: 15in (38cm) O2I0117 With open scrollwork

by William Tonks & Sons Height: 13in (33cm) O2I0345 In the form of a seated dog Height: 133/4in (35cm) O2E0266

47

Mallett Autumn 2008

48

9/23/08

12:43 PM

Page 48

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:43 PM

Page 49

49

Mallett Autumn 2008

50

9/23/08

12:43 PM

Page 50

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/30/08

12:55 PM

Page 51

LONDON

AN EMPIRE DISH LIGHT A fine quality twelve branch bronze and gilt Empire chandelier. It has a bronze corona of anthemion and scrollwork from which is suspended a rod chain of reeded bronze elements with gilt leaf terminals. The main dish itself is surmounted by a bronze tazza and is decorated below with acanthus leaf in high relief with a bold gilt key pattern border.

France, circa 1810 Height: 401/4 in (102cm) Width: 26in (66cm) L2H0612 See cover illustration

ATTRIBUTED TO ROBERT NIGHTINGALE Four Birds Perched in a Tree Oil on canvas Unframed: 22 x 17in (55.8 x 43.2cm) Framed: 291/4 x 25in (74.3 x 63.5cm)

MALLETT

NEW YORK

Robert Nightingale (1815-1895) was from Maldon in Essex.

He became interested in painting and went on to be the apprentice to J. Stannard and later studied at the Royal Academy Schools.

He painted a variety of subjects including landscapes, fruit, birds, portraits and a large number of horse portraits. He exhibited four paintings at the Royal Academy and 25 at Suffolk

Street. For twenty years Nightingale was commissioned by the last Lord Chaplin to paint portraits of his hunters, which speaks well for his ability to ‘get’ a likeness. His bird paintings are quite rare but show beautiful attention to detail.

P2I0499

51

Mallett Autumn 2008

52

9/23/08

12:44 PM

Page 52

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/29/08

12:30 PM

Page 53

LONDON

MALLETT

A QUEEN ANNE KNEEHOLE BACHELOR'S CHEST

A CHRISTOPHER DRESSER CLARET JUG

A rare early 18th century walnut kneehole bachelor's chest of small and narrow proportions with a fold-over top above a single long drawer in the frieze, the kneehole recess with a cupboard and flanked by three graduated drawers on either side, raised on ogee shaped block supports at the front and similarly shaped bracket feet at the back.

England, circa 1710

A late 19th century glass claret jug made by Hukin and Heath, mounted with a silver plated band, collar, a hinged flat lid and an ivory bar handle. Stamped “H & H” and bears a Registry of Design mark. Registered May 1881, Shape 2267.

England, circa 1881

Height: 301/2in (77.5cm) Width: 31in (79cm) Depth: 111/2in (29cm) F2I0015 A

Height: 83/4in (22cm) Diameter: 51/2in (14cm)

NEW YORK

쑯

A PAIR OF RENAISSANCE REVIVAL HANGING LANTERNS A pair of late 19th century octagonal bronze patinated lanterns in the Renaissance style. Each face is fashioned as a rounded arch with a foliate finial above. The domed tops and base terminate in further elaborate foliate finials.

Each now having a modern three branch chandelier.

England, circa 1880

O2I0507

Height: 371/2in (95cm) Diameter: 173/4in (45cm)

C

L2H0257

53

Mallett Autumn 2008

54

9/23/08

12:44 PM

Page 54

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:44 PM

Page 55

55

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

4:36 PM

Page 56

LONDON

56

MALLETT

NEW YORK

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

4:36 PM

Page 57

AN ELEPHANT HOUSE INK STAND A very unusual mid-19th century Louis Philippe gilt bronze standish, taking the form of an elephant house at the zoo with elephants in the balustraded enclosure surrounded by fixtures and the house itself enclosing boxes for ‘stamps’, ‘lights’ and an inkwell.

The whole is supported on scrolling tracery with wild animals.

France, circa 1860 Height: 7in (18cm) Width: 18in (46cm) Depth: 15in (38cm) O2H0610B

57

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:45 PM

Page 58

LONDON

58

A WILLIAM IV AMBOYNA WRITING TABLE A mid-19th century centre or writing table in amboyna wood, the highly figured rectangular top is edged with inlaid calamander in the form of a running band of inlaid flowers and foliage, the frieze with two drawers to one side. The table is supported by pedestals at each end similarly veneered in amboyna and enriched with finely carved neo-classical foliate mouldings. The supports terminate in scroll feet on castors.

In the manner of George Bullock.

England, circa 1830 Height: 283/4in (73cm) Length: 61in (155cm) Depth: 271/4 in (69cm)

A+

MALLETT

NEW YORK

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:45 PM

Page 59

59

George Bullock (1782/83-1818) was a renowned sculptor, cabinet-maker and entrepreneur.

Although forgotten for many years, he was recognised as the foremost exponent of the Regency style popularised by Thomas Hope. After a successful career as a sculptor and furniture designer in Liverpool, he moved to London in 1814 and established his furniture workshop at 4, Tenterden Street, Hanover Square. His highly original designs, drawing on contemporary Greek Revival and Empire styles, many of which were published in Ackerman's Repository of Arts, attracted such distinguished patrons as Sir Walter Scott and Matthew R. Boulton. His most famous commission came in 1815 when

the British government ordered a suite of furnishings for the exiled Emperor Napoleon on St. Helena.

Following his death the artist Benjamin Haydon commented, “George Bullock was one of those extraordinary beings who receive great good fortune and are never benefited by it, and suffer great evils, and are never ruined, always afloat but never in harbour” and two years after his death Richard Brown wrote in The Rudiments of drawing Cabinet and Upholstery Furniture that, “The late Mr Bullock was the only person who ventured into a new path....There was great novelty without absurdity, as well as a happy relief in his ornaments.”

It is now part of furniture legend that this pre-eminent

cabinet-maker was soon forgotten and it was not until the auction of the Boulton house, Great Tew Park in 1987 that his reputation was revived.

The following year Blairman held an exhibition of his work and published a catalogue featuring appraisals of Bullock's work by Clive Wainwright and Lucy Wood.

His reputation was restored.

The Tew Park furniture is particularly useful for Bullock studies as the original bills survive and signature techniques and styles can be observed en masse. In particular the strength of the overall design is typical of Bullock's architectural rather than a pure furniture approach.

F2I0133

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/29/08

1:39 PM

Page 60

LONDON

60

A GROUP OF BALL CLOCKS A group of eight French late 19th century ball clocks. Each has an enamelled dial framed with coloured diamante.

France, circa 1890 Diameter: 21/4 in (5.7cm) to 3in (7.5cm) O2I0562

MALLETT

NEW YORK

AN EMPIRE MAHOGANY DESK CHAIR A most unusual early 19th century mahogany desk chair of horse-shoe shape and with a curious fluted back. The scroll arm supports are enriched with gilt bronze mounts. The chair is supported on carved animal legs with lacquered brass collars around the hooves. The whole standing on a square plinth with castors below.

France or Russia, circa 1810 Back height: 301/4 in (77cm) Seat height: 15in (38cm) Width: 19in (48cm) Depth: 16in (41cm) F2I0096

A+ Joao researching

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:46 PM

Page 61

61

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:46 PM

Page 62

LONDON

62

SIR ALFRED MUNNINGS Gypsies and Greyhounds Signed Oil on canvas Unframed: 20 x 24in (50.8 x 60.9cm) Framed: 251/4 x 291/4 in (64.1 x 74.3cm) LITERATURE

Sir Alfred Munnings, An Artist’s Life, 1950.

MALLETT

Munnings made his first visit to the Hampshire hop-fields in late August 1913. The hop-pickers were mainly Romany families who descended on the county each year from Bristol, Salisbury, West Dorset and Herefordshire.

Their colourful wagons and caravans, flamboyant clothing and cheerful nature made them marvellous subjects for the artist’s brush. He painted day after day, except Sundays, and the Romanies provided him with

NEW YORK

whatever models he desired.

This delightful painting is illustrated in An Artist’s Life with the photo title: “I was painting these ‘Gippoes’, as I called them, right to the end of Hop-picking.”

P2I0202

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:46 PM

Page 63

63

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:47 PM

Page 64

LONDON

MALLETT

NEW YORK

64

A LARGE-SCALE VIZAGAPATAM IVORY CASKET A large early 19th century Indian ivory veneered Vizagapatam casket. Each surface is completely veneered in ivory and engraved with floral borders and neoclassical ornament, at the centre of the top there is a vase. The sandalwood interior is fitted with three compartments divided by engraved ivory borders.

India, circa 1820 Height: 4in (10cm) Width: 231/2in (60cm) Depth: 13in (33cm) O2C0351 C-B

A DECALCOMANIA VASE AS A LAMP A bulbous decalcomania vase of large-scale with chinoserie decoration on a white ground; dated 1864 underneath.

Now mounted as a lamp with a giltwood base.

The vase, France, 1864 Height including shade: 381/2in (98cm) L2I0287

B

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/24/08

8:44 AM

Page 65

65

Mallett Autumn 2008

66

9/23/08

12:47 PM

Page 66

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:47 PM

Page 67

LONDON

A MARQUETRY COMMODE An important late 18th century semi-elliptical marquetry commode, standing on four attenuated polygonal cabriole legs, with a single drawer in the centre of the frieze and a pair of doors below. The doors enclose a pair of drawers and are flanked by blind quadrant panels at each side. The marquetry decoration is executed on a satinwood ground in the Neo-Classical style, worked with tulipwood cross-banding and various forms of stringing.

The legs and the pilasters above are enriched with gilt brass mounts.

England, circa 1775 Height: 341/4 in (87cm) Width: 531/2in (136cm) Depth: 22in (56cm) PROVENANCE

MALLETT

A semi-elliptical commode at The Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight near Liverpool, must certainly have come from the same workshop as this commode offered by Mallett, in view of a striking resemblance in design and decoration in both marquetry and ormolu. The Lady Lever commode was commissioned by the 1st Lord Ashburton for Bath House at Piccadilly, London. Both commodes have identical marquetry on the main panels of the façade with classical urns festooned with husk swags tied up illusionistically over the stringing frame of the sycamore panels. Each also has similar mounts on the legs, as well as frieze blockings and interior drawer construction, with the exception of the Mallett drawer fronts being veneered in fiddleback mahogany without marquetry. The Lever collection

NEW YORK

was assessed in November 1904 and the commode was valued at the then considerable sum of £750. Highlights of the Lever collection were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1980 and this commode featured in the catalogue as no. 114.

The two commodes from the Lady Lever Art Gallery and at Mallett belong to a distinctive group of marquetry furniture of French inspiration characterised by the use of highly figured veneers, an accomplished repertoire of marquetry ornament including trophies, vases, sprays of roses and trailing floral borders as well as a number of recurring models in ormolu.

Lucy Wood, author of the seminal Catalogue of Commodes, suggests that important furniture from the same unidentified workshop includes a breakfast commode at Ham House (London), a

commode from St. Giles’s House now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), another two commodes from Lord Lever’s collection, and a pair of side tables also from Lord Wrottesley’s estate. There has also been one other strikingly similar commode from Sundorne Castle, Shropshire that was formerly offered through Norman Adams.

Despite the promising pedigrees of these pieces, no firm documentation has come to light. The Ham House commode, the two at the Lady Lever and this example at Mallett all share similarities in construction. All have a secondary carcase top that is dovetailed to the sides and screwed to the exterior top.

Interestingly, this feature seems to be associated with immigrant cabinet-makers who were

Formerly in the collection of the 4th Lord Wrottesley, sold Sotheby’s 28 June, 1968, lot 162.

ILLUSTRATED

Lucy Wood, The Catalogue of Commodes, HMSO, London, 1994, p. 138.

A side panel of the Lady Lever commode, illustrated in Lucy Wood, The Catalogue of Commodes, HMSO, London, 1994, p. 136.

67

Mallett Autumn 2008

68

9/24/08

9:34 AM

Page 68

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/24/08

9:34 AM

Page 69

69

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:47 PM

Page 70

LONDON

70

trained to make carcasses to support marble tops. The cabinet-maker of all these pieces of furniture may prove to be Christopher Fuhrlohg, who came to London from Sweden via Paris in the late 1760s.

The magnificent commode offered here is a very fine example of the epitome of Georgian furniture where design and outstanding craftsmanship come together harmoniously.

Its background lies in the passion that developed among aristocratic patrons, architects and furniture makers for things Roman and related to ‘antique’ buildings, sculpture and artefacts. Robert Adam relied heavily on the designs and ornament of Ancient Rome in his publications of designs, Works in Architecture of Robert and James Adam in 1773-78 and 1779.

Adam’s engravings fuelled a craze for Roman Classical grandeur and order and marked a return to classic restraint and a greater delicacy of ornament.

The commission for the Mallett commode fell in the midst of this trend.

This was a period closely associated with George III and a time of extraordinary invention and prosperity in England. The cultural elite of the day

MALLETT

NEW YORK

commissioned highly refined Neo-Classical ornament and design. So unanimous was its acceptance that it became a truly national expression affecting the work of virtually every English cabinet-maker and designer including the partnership of John Mayhew and William Ince, Robert Adam, Thomas Sheraton and William Chambers.

Satinwood was the most highly valued wood used in the late 18th century. Together with the other precious and interesting timbers used in the marquetry on this commode, it came from the colonies; the West Indies and Ceylon. They represented the new, rich, light, colourful and bright age of NeoClassicism. The adaptation of ancient forms into contemporary classical decoration brought about a tremendously rich injection of ornamental forms based on straight, clean lines that were in contrast to the frivolities of the Rococo. The semi-elliptical marquetry commode at Mallett represents the peak of Neo-Classical furniture design and execution during a period regarded as the ‘Golden Age’ of English furniture.

A MID-19TH CENTURY BRASS MUSIC STOOL A charming and most unusual 19th century brass rotating adjustable height music stool with a brass seat-rail carrying handle, supported on four scroll legs terminating in pad feet, the seat upholstered in coral silk velvet.

England, circa 1860 Height: 231/2in (60cm) Width: 121/2in (32cm) Depth: 131/4 in (33.5cm) F2I0419

F2I0205

A commode from the same workshop, circa 1775, commissioned by the Corbet Family for Sundorne Castle, Shropshire, from the Norman Adams archive.

A marquetry commode undoubtedly from the same workshop as the commode at Mallett, circa 1775, at The Lady Lever Art Gallery and illustrated in Lucy Wood, The Catalogue of Commodes, HMSO, London, 1994, p. 135.

One of a pair of side tables formerly in the collection of Lord Wrottesley suggested to be by the same unidentified maker, illustrated in Lucy Wood, The Catalogue of Commodes, HMSO, London, 1994, p. 133.

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:47 PM

Page 71

71

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:47 PM

Page 72

LONDON

72

AN EMPIRE GUÉRIDON ATTRIBUTED TO ALEXANDRE MAIGRET A French Empire ormolu mounted and mahogany guéridon. The frieze is supported by a boldly modelled, richly mounted baluster stem. The whole standing on a stepped plinth of concave sides terminating in gilt bun feet.

Attributed to Alexandre Maigret (active 1775-1826).

With a paper label with the inventory number “A.1031” under a count’s crown.

With its original vert maurin marble top.

France, circa 1810 Height: 311/4 in (79.5cm) Diameter: 371/2in (95.5cm)

MALLETT

The cabinet-maker and upholsterer Alexandre Maigret began working sometime between 1775 and 1780 and had a magasin established at the fashionable rue Vivienne in Paris.

There he sold not only furniture but also mirrors and gilt bronzes.

He became an important supplier of the Garde-meuble Imperiale, especially as tapissier, working for almost all of the Imperial residences such as Versailles, Trianon, Les Tuileries, SaintCloud, Strasbourg, Laeken, Meudon and Fontainebleu.

He was one of the paradigms of the Empire decorative style in furniture, along with names such as Jacob-Desmalter and Marcion.

Maigret collaborated with the Feucheres and Fossey workshops

NEW YORK

on the production of ormolu, a material which was always of the finest quality in his furniture.

Our guéridon is an excellent example of the exceptional quality of mounts used by Maigret. He passed on his business to his son AlexandreFrançois in 1824, fully retiring two years later.

It is not only the particular Empire style design and the very fine quality mounts which point to Maigret as the maker of this piece, but also an example which has the same mounts stamped by him and sold anonymously in Paris in 1988 (Drouot, Cornette de Saint-Cyr, 18 January, lot 132) which supports this attribution.

F2I0209

A+

A very similar piece sold at Drouot, Cornette de Saint-Cyr, 18 January 1988, lot 132.

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/29/08

12:39 PM

Page 73

73

Mallett Autumn Gatefold

9/29/08

12:43 PM

Page 1

LONDON

74

A MAGNIFICENT IRISH MAHOGANY DINING TABLE An early 19th century Irish mahogany dining table attributed to Mack, Williams and Gibton, comprising five tilttop pedestal sections and four matching loose leaves, the rounded rectangular top of finely figured mahogany with a deep reeded edge. The base with five turned and reeded columns standing on quadruple splay legs terminating in polished brass claw feet and castors.

(The leaves are not original to the table but of the same origin and date.)

Ireland, circa 1830 Height: 283/4in (73cm) Width: 5 feet 9in (181cm) Length of pedestals only: 14 feet 21/2in (433cm) Length with all leaves: 22 feet (671cm) PROVENANCE

Alfred Rive, B.A., M.Litt, Ph.D., LL.D (1898-1970)

A++

MALLETT

This dining table is a unique example of the best of Dublin furniture making of the period.

It is comprised of five individual pedestals and a further four leaves, designed to separate and be reformed as is most convenient. The versatile nature of the design is in keeping with the Regency era’s taste for fluid interior design, whereby such furniture could be easily altered in scale as required.

The five pillar sections, when together reaching just over 14 feet, make up the original table.

The four additional leaves have been sourced from another table of the same date and, remarkably, appear to be made from the same cuts of timber.

They have the same deep reeded edges that give the top such

NEW YORK

strength. The generously wide rectangular top is of the finest West Indian mahogany and the beautifully grained, bookmatched veneers are evenly faded across the table.

The thickness of the solid mahogany top, almost two inches at the edges, is a fine and typically Irish characteristic.

The quality of the wood used is of an exceptional standard throughout. Mahogany is used instead of a secondary timber even for the undersides of the table. The pedestal supports are perfectly proportioned and each is supported on four splaying legs, in a Regency saber form.

The sophistication of the design shows in the reeding around the curved table top, which follows through to the legs

LONDON

and terminals. The only carved decoration is the single acanthus leaf found on the hips that serve as a classical counterpoint to the shiny brass caps opposite.

This magnificent large-scale dining table has no identification marks but appears to have been made by the firm of Mack, Williams and Gibton, having the same features as another bearing their trade stamp that was sold through Mallett. A feature typical of Mack, Williams and Gibton furniture is the matched rounded and moulded edges of both the pillar table tops and the additional leaves. Overall, the table, of extraordinary scale, is in exceptional original condition. It retains its original brassware, locks, toecaps and castors. The excellent condition

of the table is largely testament to Mack, Williams and Gibton’s solid construction techniques and quality of materials.

The firm of Mack, Williams and Gibton Pre-eminent amongst the flourishing Irish cabinet-making trade of the early 19th century was the celebrated firm of Mack, Williams and Gibton, latterly known as Williams and Gibton.

Founded by John Mack in Abbey Street in Dublin some time before 1784, the business grew through the partnership with Robert Gibton, another successful Dublin-based maker in around 1800. The greatest recognition of their talents came with the Royal Appointment in 1806 as ‘Upholsterers and

MALLETT

Cabinet Makers to His Majesty, His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant and His Majesty’s Board of Works’.

In 1812 Robert Gibton died and was succeeded by his son, William Gibton (1789-1842).

After John Mack’s death in 1829, the company carried on as Williams and Gibton until 1842.

The firm retained the Royal Warrant for an unprecedented time and in the first half of the 19th century supplied pieces for the most prominent public buildings in Ireland.

Dublin in the Regency Period At the dawn of the 19th century, Dublin enjoyed a booming economy. With the relative peace after the Act of Union in 1800, along with growing

NEW YORK

prosperity underscored by trade, the capital’s population rose to its highest level to that point.

In the previous 50 years the city had become, in the words of the Anglo-French surveyor, John Rocque, “...one of the largest and most celebrated Cities of Europe.” The Wide Streets Commission, appointed by Parliament, was responsible for the celebrated city plan that survives today. Furthermore, the attention given to the Liffey quays allowed for the accommodation of ships laden with exotic and luxurious materials from around the world.

It was Dublin’s position as a strategic major international port that gave Irish cabinetmakers an advantage amongst their peers. Trade ships carrying

the luxury import of mahogany from Cuba and Honduras regularly stopped in Dublin, en route to London, allowing the local trade to pick the finest timbers first. Moreover, Williams and Gibton’s Royal Appointment no doubt allowed for preferred status amongst their local brethren for securing such quality wood, as exemplified by the four pedestal table’s extraordinary mahogany.

Thanks to the almost constant recognition of the quality of the firm’s furniture, a remarkable amount survives and is prominently displayed in many Irish museums and houses.

Amongst these are the Four Courts, Dublin Castle, Aras an Uachtaráin, the official residence of the President of Ireland and

75

Ballindoolin House, Co. Offaly, the Chapel Royal, and the Treasury. At the same time, the firm received commissions from several major private Irish houses including Ballynegall, Co. Westmeath, Oakley Park, Co. Meath, Strokestown, Co. Roscommon, and Lissadell, Co. Sligo. Williams and Gibton are also represented by several pieces in the collection of the National Museum of Ireland at 29 Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin, the museum’s showcase for the best Irish furniture.

PROVENANCE

Alfred Rive had a distinguished career in the Canadian Foreign Service, becoming part of the Canadian permanent delegation to the League of Nations in

76

A comparable dining table stamped by Williams and Gibton, image from Mallett archive, 2007.

Geneva (1935-1940), and Canadian High Commissioner in Wellington, New Zealand (1946-53). He was later appointed Canadian Ambassador to Ireland between 1955-63. He purchased the table from an antique dealer in Bath in the late 1940s or very

early 1950s for his house in Canada. The Bath dealer had bought it in Ireland shortly before. The table subsequently returned to Ireland once again before coming to Mallett.

F2I0259

Mallett Autumn Gatefold

9/29/08

12:43 PM

Page 1

LONDON

74

A MAGNIFICENT IRISH MAHOGANY DINING TABLE An early 19th century Irish mahogany dining table attributed to Mack, Williams and Gibton, comprising five tilttop pedestal sections and four matching loose leaves, the rounded rectangular top of finely figured mahogany with a deep reeded edge. The base with five turned and reeded columns standing on quadruple splay legs terminating in polished brass claw feet and castors.

(The leaves are not original to the table but of the same origin and date.)

Ireland, circa 1830 Height: 283/4in (73cm) Width: 5 feet 9in (181cm) Length of pedestals only: 14 feet 21/2in (433cm) Length with all leaves: 22 feet (671cm) PROVENANCE

Alfred Rive, B.A., M.Litt, Ph.D., LL.D (1898-1970)

A++

MALLETT

This dining table is a unique example of the best of Dublin furniture making of the period.

It is comprised of five individual pedestals and a further four leaves, designed to separate and be reformed as is most convenient. The versatile nature of the design is in keeping with the Regency era’s taste for fluid interior design, whereby such furniture could be easily altered in scale as required.

The five pillar sections, when together reaching just over 14 feet, make up the original table.

The four additional leaves have been sourced from another table of the same date and, remarkably, appear to be made from the same cuts of timber.

They have the same deep reeded edges that give the top such

NEW YORK

strength. The generously wide rectangular top is of the finest West Indian mahogany and the beautifully grained, bookmatched veneers are evenly faded across the table.

The thickness of the solid mahogany top, almost two inches at the edges, is a fine and typically Irish characteristic.

The quality of the wood used is of an exceptional standard throughout. Mahogany is used instead of a secondary timber even for the undersides of the table. The pedestal supports are perfectly proportioned and each is supported on four splaying legs, in a Regency saber form.

The sophistication of the design shows in the reeding around the curved table top, which follows through to the legs

LONDON

and terminals. The only carved decoration is the single acanthus leaf found on the hips that serve as a classical counterpoint to the shiny brass caps opposite.

This magnificent large-scale dining table has no identification marks but appears to have been made by the firm of Mack, Williams and Gibton, having the same features as another bearing their trade stamp that was sold through Mallett. A feature typical of Mack, Williams and Gibton furniture is the matched rounded and moulded edges of both the pillar table tops and the additional leaves. Overall, the table, of extraordinary scale, is in exceptional original condition. It retains its original brassware, locks, toecaps and castors. The excellent condition

of the table is largely testament to Mack, Williams and Gibton’s solid construction techniques and quality of materials.

The firm of Mack, Williams and Gibton Pre-eminent amongst the flourishing Irish cabinet-making trade of the early 19th century was the celebrated firm of Mack, Williams and Gibton, latterly known as Williams and Gibton.

Founded by John Mack in Abbey Street in Dublin some time before 1784, the business grew through the partnership with Robert Gibton, another successful Dublin-based maker in around 1800. The greatest recognition of their talents came with the Royal Appointment in 1806 as ‘Upholsterers and

MALLETT

Cabinet Makers to His Majesty, His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant and His Majesty’s Board of Works’.

In 1812 Robert Gibton died and was succeeded by his son, William Gibton (1789-1842).

After John Mack’s death in 1829, the company carried on as Williams and Gibton until 1842.

The firm retained the Royal Warrant for an unprecedented time and in the first half of the 19th century supplied pieces for the most prominent public buildings in Ireland.

Dublin in the Regency Period At the dawn of the 19th century, Dublin enjoyed a booming economy. With the relative peace after the Act of Union in 1800, along with growing

NEW YORK

prosperity underscored by trade, the capital’s population rose to its highest level to that point.

In the previous 50 years the city had become, in the words of the Anglo-French surveyor, John Rocque, “...one of the largest and most celebrated Cities of Europe.” The Wide Streets Commission, appointed by Parliament, was responsible for the celebrated city plan that survives today. Furthermore, the attention given to the Liffey quays allowed for the accommodation of ships laden with exotic and luxurious materials from around the world.

It was Dublin’s position as a strategic major international port that gave Irish cabinetmakers an advantage amongst their peers. Trade ships carrying

the luxury import of mahogany from Cuba and Honduras regularly stopped in Dublin, en route to London, allowing the local trade to pick the finest timbers first. Moreover, Williams and Gibton’s Royal Appointment no doubt allowed for preferred status amongst their local brethren for securing such quality wood, as exemplified by the four pedestal table’s extraordinary mahogany.

Thanks to the almost constant recognition of the quality of the firm’s furniture, a remarkable amount survives and is prominently displayed in many Irish museums and houses.

Amongst these are the Four Courts, Dublin Castle, Aras an Uachtaráin, the official residence of the President of Ireland and

75

Ballindoolin House, Co. Offaly, the Chapel Royal, and the Treasury. At the same time, the firm received commissions from several major private Irish houses including Ballynegall, Co. Westmeath, Oakley Park, Co. Meath, Strokestown, Co. Roscommon, and Lissadell, Co. Sligo. Williams and Gibton are also represented by several pieces in the collection of the National Museum of Ireland at 29 Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin, the museum’s showcase for the best Irish furniture.

PROVENANCE

Alfred Rive had a distinguished career in the Canadian Foreign Service, becoming part of the Canadian permanent delegation to the League of Nations in

76

A comparable dining table stamped by Williams and Gibton, image from Mallett archive, 2007.

Geneva (1935-1940), and Canadian High Commissioner in Wellington, New Zealand (1946-53). He was later appointed Canadian Ambassador to Ireland between 1955-63. He purchased the table from an antique dealer in Bath in the late 1940s or very

early 1950s for his house in Canada. The Bath dealer had bought it in Ireland shortly before. The table subsequently returned to Ireland once again before coming to Mallett.

F2I0259

Mallett Autumn Gatefold

9/29/08

12:43 PM

Page 1

LONDON

74

A MAGNIFICENT IRISH MAHOGANY DINING TABLE An early 19th century Irish mahogany dining table attributed to Mack, Williams and Gibton, comprising five tilttop pedestal sections and four matching loose leaves, the rounded rectangular top of finely figured mahogany with a deep reeded edge. The base with five turned and reeded columns standing on quadruple splay legs terminating in polished brass claw feet and castors.

(The leaves are not original to the table but of the same origin and date.)

Ireland, circa 1830 Height: 283/4in (73cm) Width: 5 feet 9in (181cm) Length of pedestals only: 14 feet 21/2in (433cm) Length with all leaves: 22 feet (671cm) PROVENANCE

Alfred Rive, B.A., M.Litt, Ph.D., LL.D (1898-1970)

A++

MALLETT

This dining table is a unique example of the best of Dublin furniture making of the period.

It is comprised of five individual pedestals and a further four leaves, designed to separate and be reformed as is most convenient. The versatile nature of the design is in keeping with the Regency era’s taste for fluid interior design, whereby such furniture could be easily altered in scale as required.

The five pillar sections, when together reaching just over 14 feet, make up the original table.

The four additional leaves have been sourced from another table of the same date and, remarkably, appear to be made from the same cuts of timber.

They have the same deep reeded edges that give the top such

NEW YORK

strength. The generously wide rectangular top is of the finest West Indian mahogany and the beautifully grained, bookmatched veneers are evenly faded across the table.

The thickness of the solid mahogany top, almost two inches at the edges, is a fine and typically Irish characteristic.

The quality of the wood used is of an exceptional standard throughout. Mahogany is used instead of a secondary timber even for the undersides of the table. The pedestal supports are perfectly proportioned and each is supported on four splaying legs, in a Regency saber form.

The sophistication of the design shows in the reeding around the curved table top, which follows through to the legs

LONDON

and terminals. The only carved decoration is the single acanthus leaf found on the hips that serve as a classical counterpoint to the shiny brass caps opposite.

This magnificent large-scale dining table has no identification marks but appears to have been made by the firm of Mack, Williams and Gibton, having the same features as another bearing their trade stamp that was sold through Mallett. A feature typical of Mack, Williams and Gibton furniture is the matched rounded and moulded edges of both the pillar table tops and the additional leaves. Overall, the table, of extraordinary scale, is in exceptional original condition. It retains its original brassware, locks, toecaps and castors. The excellent condition

of the table is largely testament to Mack, Williams and Gibton’s solid construction techniques and quality of materials.

The firm of Mack, Williams and Gibton Pre-eminent amongst the flourishing Irish cabinet-making trade of the early 19th century was the celebrated firm of Mack, Williams and Gibton, latterly known as Williams and Gibton.

Founded by John Mack in Abbey Street in Dublin some time before 1784, the business grew through the partnership with Robert Gibton, another successful Dublin-based maker in around 1800. The greatest recognition of their talents came with the Royal Appointment in 1806 as ‘Upholsterers and

MALLETT

Cabinet Makers to His Majesty, His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant and His Majesty’s Board of Works’.

In 1812 Robert Gibton died and was succeeded by his son, William Gibton (1789-1842).

After John Mack’s death in 1829, the company carried on as Williams and Gibton until 1842.

The firm retained the Royal Warrant for an unprecedented time and in the first half of the 19th century supplied pieces for the most prominent public buildings in Ireland.

Dublin in the Regency Period At the dawn of the 19th century, Dublin enjoyed a booming economy. With the relative peace after the Act of Union in 1800, along with growing

NEW YORK

prosperity underscored by trade, the capital’s population rose to its highest level to that point.

In the previous 50 years the city had become, in the words of the Anglo-French surveyor, John Rocque, “...one of the largest and most celebrated Cities of Europe.” The Wide Streets Commission, appointed by Parliament, was responsible for the celebrated city plan that survives today. Furthermore, the attention given to the Liffey quays allowed for the accommodation of ships laden with exotic and luxurious materials from around the world.

It was Dublin’s position as a strategic major international port that gave Irish cabinetmakers an advantage amongst their peers. Trade ships carrying

the luxury import of mahogany from Cuba and Honduras regularly stopped in Dublin, en route to London, allowing the local trade to pick the finest timbers first. Moreover, Williams and Gibton’s Royal Appointment no doubt allowed for preferred status amongst their local brethren for securing such quality wood, as exemplified by the four pedestal table’s extraordinary mahogany.

Thanks to the almost constant recognition of the quality of the firm’s furniture, a remarkable amount survives and is prominently displayed in many Irish museums and houses.

Amongst these are the Four Courts, Dublin Castle, Aras an Uachtaráin, the official residence of the President of Ireland and

75

Ballindoolin House, Co. Offaly, the Chapel Royal, and the Treasury. At the same time, the firm received commissions from several major private Irish houses including Ballynegall, Co. Westmeath, Oakley Park, Co. Meath, Strokestown, Co. Roscommon, and Lissadell, Co. Sligo. Williams and Gibton are also represented by several pieces in the collection of the National Museum of Ireland at 29 Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin, the museum’s showcase for the best Irish furniture.

PROVENANCE

Alfred Rive had a distinguished career in the Canadian Foreign Service, becoming part of the Canadian permanent delegation to the League of Nations in

76

A comparable dining table stamped by Williams and Gibton, image from Mallett archive, 2007.

Geneva (1935-1940), and Canadian High Commissioner in Wellington, New Zealand (1946-53). He was later appointed Canadian Ambassador to Ireland between 1955-63. He purchased the table from an antique dealer in Bath in the late 1940s or very

early 1950s for his house in Canada. The Bath dealer had bought it in Ireland shortly before. The table subsequently returned to Ireland once again before coming to Mallett.

F2I0259

Mallett Autumn Gatefold

9/23/08

LONDON

77

5:04 PM

MALLETT

Page 2

NEW YORK

79

Mallett Autumn Gatefold

9/23/08

LONDON

77

5:04 PM

MALLETT

Page 2

NEW YORK

79

Mallett Autumn Gatefold

9/23/08

LONDON

77

5:04 PM

MALLETT

Page 2

NEW YORK

79

Mallett Autumn 2008

80

9/23/08

12:48 PM

Page 80

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:48 PM

Page 81

LONDON

A GEORGE II IRISH MAHOGANY SILVER TABLE An important George II Irish mahogany silver table, the dished top above an elaborately shaped frieze carved with ‘C’ scrolls and vines with a punched background, the cabriole legs are headed by acanthus leaves terminating in squared paw feet, the sides with similar carving.

Ireland, circa 1750 Height: 28in (71cm) Width: 32in (81.5cm) Depth: 21in (53.5cm) PROVENANCE

The Guinness Family, Saint Annes House, Clontarf.

A+

MALLETT

Irish furniture of the 18th century is characterised by an ebullient spirit that contrasts with the restraint of English pieces from the same period.

Irish carvers gave way to an abundance of Celtic spirit in their craftsmanship, which was demonstrated by a bold and muscular style. The carved friezes and legs of furniture were embellished with expressive acanthus scrolls, flat diaper carving, hairy paw feet and highly imaginative carved lions’ heads and grotesque masks. This animal influence strongly permeates Irish design culture and its manifestation in the furniture making tradition has created an expressive and unique style. The trait of animal elements in the tradition of Irish architectural and furniture design, which were

NEW YORK

used prolifically in Irish Romanesque carving, dates from the influence of The Book of Kells, a pristinely illustrated manuscript of the four gospels, providing a vibrant and rich source of animal imagery. It was written in the monastery of Iona in the 6th century to honour Saint Columba and has provided a lasting legacy in Irish culture.

The mahogany used in Irish furniture is sumptuous and of the finest quality, with traders in Irish ports selecting the best of the timbers off shipments from the Americas. The quality of both material and craftsmanship in Irish furniture have combined with the rarity of such pieces to create a flourishing renaissance in the demand for Irish furniture.

F2I0219

81

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:48 PM

Page 82

LONDON

82

A FINE GEORGE II CARVED GILTWOOD PIER MIRROR A mid-18th century carved giltwood pier mirror, the rectangular mirror plate is set within a giltwood frame edged with ‘C’ scrolls, foliage and pendant flowers, the sides with small pavilions on a rockwork base with floral, scrolling and icicle motifs. The pediment is centred by a finely carved pavilion with architectural columns and spires on rockwork, the apron similarly ornamented with ‘C’ scrolls and a central cartouche enclosing a spray of flowers and rockwork with waterfalls.

England, circa 1755 Height: 61in (155cm) Width: 313/4in (80.5cm) A+

MALLETT

As the 18th century progressed, the Classical Palladian style gradually gave way to more eclectic tastes, resulting in the lighter, more playful Rococo style. A more relaxed social climate and exotic interpretations of the Far East, compounded by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes and hence the influx of French craftsmen into England, were catalysts in this process.

This mirror is a fine example of the English Rococo style.

Incorporating elements of chinoiserie, naturalistic, organic motifs and the distinctive rocaille ornament, it displays an exuberance and frivolity characteristic of the time.

Designs similar to this mirror can be seen in the drawings of Matthias Lock (1710-1765), an

NEW YORK

outstanding English carver and designer who was one of the earliest craftsmen to introduce these playful designs. He published A New Drawing Book of Ornament in 1740 and Six Sconces in 1744, bridging the gap between the robust Palladian designs of Kent and the whimsical fantasy of Thomas Johnson. Lock was recorded at two London addresses: Castle Street in Long Acre in 1746 and at Tottenham Court Road in 1752. It is believed that he was engaged by Chippendale for certain drawings and wood carving. Between 1740 and 1765, he published numerous books of designs for furniture, including mirrors and girandoles, at all times reflecting the most current fashions of the period.

LITERATURE

H. Schiffer, The Mirror Book, Shiffer Publishing Ltd., Pennsylvania, 1993.

G. Child, World Mirrors: 16501900, Sotheby’s Publications, 1990.

S. Roche, Mirrors, Rizzoli International Publications, New York, 1985.

E. White, Pictorial Dictionary of British 18th Century Furniture Design, Antique Collectors’ Club, Suffolk, 1996, pp. 331-335.

F2I0314

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:48 PM

Page 83

83

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:48 PM

Page 84

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:48 PM

Page 85

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:49 PM

Page 86

LONDON

86

A PAIR OF PARCEL-GILT BENCHES An exceptional pair of North Italian parcel-gilt two-seater benches. Each is carved on the top edge with foliate decoration above a recessed frieze with a scroll of applied foliate ornament. The benches are supported by gilt reeded ‘X’ frame legs enriched with further foliate ornament and joined by a boldly carved baluster stretcher.

Now upholstered in yellow damask.

Italy, circa 1800 Height: 17in (43cm) Width: 391/2in (100cm) Depth: 19in (48cm) F2I0168

MALLETT

NEW YORK

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:49 PM

Page 87

LONDON

MALLETT

NEW YORK

쑯

A PAIR OF LARGE 19TH CENTURY GILT LANTERNS A pair of late 19th century circular, rococo revival lanterns of large-scale, the ‘C’ and ‘S’ scroll-shaped canopy supporting five glass panels, each of serpentine form, bordered by decorative foliate scroll gilt frames with a central foliate motif, terminating in bud-shaped finials, with a three branch chandelier.

England, circa 1870 Height: 321/4 in (82cm) Diameter: 18in (46cm) O2H0510A+

87

Mallett Autumn 2008

88

9/23/08

12:49 PM

Page 88

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:49 PM

Page 89

89

Mallett Autumn 2008

90

9/23/08

12:49 PM

Page 90

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:50 PM

Page 91

LONDON

A GEORGE III CARVED MAHOGANY TRIPOD TABLE A mid-18th century mahogany tripod table; the octagonal gallery top has brass stringing, and finely turned baluster supports. The stem is spiral fluted above laurel leaf carving, all standing on reeded scroll legs and terminating in block feet.

England, circa 1760 Height: 291/4 in(74cm) Diameter: 21in (54cm) F2I0315

MALLETT

NEW YORK

쑯

A PAIR OF GILTWOOD MIRRORS A pair of late 18th century neoclassical giltwood mirrors, each surmounted by a neo-classical vase issuing an open anthemion.

This in turn is supported on a pedestal hung with a gilt swag.

The sides are strung with honeysuckle swags and the base is enriched with ‘C’ scrolls and foliate ornament.

The mirrors retain their original mirror plates.

England, circa 1780 Height: 53in (135cm) Width: 23in (58.5cm) Depth: 11/2in (3.5cm) F2I0438

91

Mallett Autumn 2008

92

9/29/08

2:24 PM

Page 92

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/29/08

2:12 PM

Page 93

93

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/29/08

1:02 PM

Page 94

LONDON

94

A BRACKET CLOCK BY JOSEPH MARTINEAU AND SONS A late 18th century mahogany bracket clock by Joseph Martineau & Sons, London.

The small break arched case with three raised brass-mounted panels surmounted by a gilt brass carrying handle and standing on brass ogee feet.

The arched dial with maker’s signature and a strike / silent subsidiary dial to the arch. The eight day movement with verge escapement, rack striking and a well engraved backplate.

England, circa 1790 Height: 14in (35.5cm) Width: 11in (28cm) Depth: 71/2in (19cm) O2I0166 B

MALLETT

NEW YORK

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY TEA TABLE A mid-18th century mahogany tea table, the pierced rectangular gallery is carved with fretwork, above a blind fretwork frieze on a pounced ground, with further blind fret carved legs with pierced brackets.

Ireland, circa 1760 Height: 28in (71cm) Width: 351/2in (90cm) Depth: 221/2in (57cm) A+

The Chinese style fretwork on this table is laid on a ‘pounced’ ground, designed to give more prominence to the smooth raised fretwork. This pouncing is a characteristic of Irish furniture, often seen on the aprons of side tables. The way in which the top is attached with glue blocks, rather than screws, is also an Irish characteristic.

Rectangular tables with raised, pierced rims, were described by Chippendale in his Director of 1754 as “china tables” for the very fashionable activity of tea drinking. Sixty-four illustrations were devoted to Chinese-type furniture, such was the demand for extravagancies from the East. Similar in function to the tripod table, tables such as this example could be moved into a drawing room with tea bowls and other porcelain placed upon it. The fretted gallery prevented the porcelain from being swept off by accident and also conveyed the sophistication of its owner’s taste and the skill of the cabinet-maker.

F2I0317

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:51 PM

Page 95

95

Mallett Autumn 2008

96

9/23/08

3:27 PM

Page 96

THOMAS LUNY A Privateer Cutter in the Downs off Walmer Castle Signed and dated 1779 Oil on canvas Unframed: 36 x 55in (91 x 137cm) In a fine gilded Georgian frame

Exhibited at the Royal Academy 1780 number 344 as A Privateer Cutter. This was Luny's first London exhibit, and was sent from his lodgings at The Anchor, Hope Street, St. George's, Middlesex.

Thomas Luny (1759-1837) was born in London in 1759 and was trained by the distinguished marine painter Francis Holman.

Luny's early paintings have very much the feel of his master, though his palette tends to be slightly lighter. He started

exhibiting at the Society of Artists in 1778 and at the Royal Academy in 1780 – his paintings were exhibited there every year until 1793, the year of the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War. Luny volunteered for service with the Navy, with whom by now he had an intimate acquaintance as a painter - most of his patrons were navy men. He seems to have produced no more paintings from this date until about 1802, when he once more sent a

picture to the Royal Academy.

Paintings before Luny joined the Navy are both rarer and finer than those he produced after the end of his service and the reason is not hard to find. He retired from the Navy with severe arthritis in his hands, and this caused a diminution in the ‘fineness’ of his paintings, which after c.1805 become much broader in treatment. It seems likely that he retired to his studio in Teignmouth to be near his former Captain and mentor,

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

3:28 PM

Page 97

ě‘Ż

A VERY FINE GEORGE III MAHOGANY BREAKFAST TABLE A late 18th century mahogany breakfast table. The finely figured tilt-top is of rounded rectangular form and crossbanded in satinwood. The turned pedestal stands on four curving legs terminating in brass castors.

England, circa 1790 Height: 28in (71cm) Width: 601/4 in (153cm) Depth: 43in (109cm) F2I0442 A+

George Tobin RN, who had likewise retired to that town.

Luny was a prolific painter, despite his disability, and by 1837 was able to have a retrospective exhibition in Bond Street with 130 of his works on display. At his death, he was a prosperous and successful man, leaving a fortune of ÂŁ14, 000 to his daughter who had long assisted him. There are examples of the artist's work in a great many museums around the world, including the National Maritime Museum (40), Bristol,

Exeter, Plymouth and the Peabody Museum of Sail, Salem, Massachusetts.

Cutters were fast vessels mainly employed as auxiliaries to the war fleets, but also in civilian use. They were normally armed with up to ten guns and, being fast and handy, were much used by the Revenue service in antismuggling operations. They were later also used in the Trinity House pilot service. Privateers, as their name suggests, were privately owned and manned

armed vessels which were used by the government to supplement Royal Navy ships as occasion (usually a war) demanded. Their reputation was not the purest, and on occasions the owners and masters were known for their depredation of allied merchant shipping if no enemy plunder were to hand.

The boat in the present painting is particularly heavily armed (apparently 22 guns) for a Cutter.

P2I0138

97

Mallett Autumn 2008

98

9/23/08

12:51 PM

Page 98

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:51 PM

Page 99

99

Mallett Autumn 2008

100

9/23/08

12:51 PM

Page 100

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:52 PM

Page 101

LONDON

A PAIR OF ANGLOINDIAN CHAIRS A pair of early 19th century teak side chairs. Each profusely decorated with inlaid floral motifs and quatrefoils in ivory and ebony. The arched backsplat flanked by turned baluster column supports. The chairs are supported on unusually fashioned cabriole legs similarly decorated and are joined by stretchers and terminate in claw feet.

India, probably Vizagapatam, circa 1820 Height: 39in (99cm) Width: 181/4 in (46.2cm) Depth: 181/2in (47cm)

MALLETT

Ivory inlaid furniture made in Vizagapatam in the 18th and early 19th centuries illustrates how rapidly furniture designs were transmitted from cosmopolitan centres to the colonial periphery at that time.

The city, the centre of textile production with a port on the northern stretches of the Coramandel Coast, attracted European settlers and hence a demand for Western style furniture. The timber, including the teak seen in these chairs, could easily be obtained from nearby forests or imported via the local port and artisans of the Kamsali caste married their own skills of ivory inlay to Western influenced designs.

It is likely that many of the technical skills used in the early workshops at Vizagapatam were learnt from carpenters, aboard visiting European vessels, travelling between Europe and the Far East, and the joinery tends to be fairly crude. The beginning of the 19th century however, saw an improvement in the technical aspects of Vizagapatam work, evidenced by cleaner and more regular joints and greater attention to the quality of decoration.

Other fine examples of Vizagapatam work exist in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum with a suite of three chairs and a daybed manufactured in Vizagapatam between 1700 and 1720.

Other related examples are at Charlecote Park, Warwickshire (now a National Trust property) and Raynham Hall, Norfolk.

LITERATURE

A. Jaffer, Luxury Goods from India: The Art of the Indian Cabinet Maker, V & A Publications, London, 2002.

A. Jaffer, Furniture From British India and Ceylon, V & A Publications, London, 2001.

F2I0391

NEW YORK

쑯

C

TWO RÉGENCE GILTWOOD SIDE TABLES Two outstanding Régence period giltwood side tables having a central bearded mask in the frieze, which is repeated at the capital of the legs. The friezes are decorated in low relief with strapwork and a lattice with foliate patera at the centre, all set against a cross-hatched ground. The lattice-work continues down the cabriole legs into the scroll toes. The table is joined by an 'X' frame stretcher of square cross-section scrolls which are enriched by acanthus leaf carving and recessed panels of strap-work and crosshatching. At the centre of the stretcher is an elongated hexagonal element carved with further lattice-work and ornament.

The tables have replacement white marble tops.

Germany, circa 1730 Height: 32in (81cm) Width: 54in (137cm) Depth: 271/4in (69cm) F2C0537

101

Mallett Autumn 2008

102

9/23/08

12:52 PM

Page 102

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:52 PM

Page 103

103

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:52 PM

Page 104

LONDON

104

A TWELVE-FOLD COROMANDEL SCREEN An important early 18th century Chinese coromandel doublesided screen with very fine decoration on both sides, on a prune coloured ground. The front face is decorated with an elaborate cityscape depicting vignettes of aspects of palace life, with the Emperor at the centre watching dancers, bordered with auspicious emblems and exotic beasts.

The reverse has gilt and polychrome landscapes.

All achieved in an unusually soft palette.

China, circa 1700 Height: 109in (277cm) Width: 2401/4 in (610cm)

MALLETT

Coromandel was the term given in the 17th century to the Chinese trade of incised lacquer, in which the pictorial elements of the lacquered surface are defined by the different depths to which the lacquer has been cut revealing the ground coating which is then coloured. In China it is known as ‘kuan cai’ which means ‘cut out and coloured lacquer’.

It was first recorded in a document in Xiu Shi Lu; a 16th century book about the lacquer industry. The technique was used on large screens, usually consisting of twelve panels. The production was concentrated in the Southern region of China, close to the sea ports, namely in the provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui.

Coromandel itself is a misnomer because the lacquer did not originate from the Coromandel Coast of East India but from the Chinese coastal provinces surrounding Canton.

The explanation for this term is that much of the British shipping sailed from the East India Trading Company's ports in India, directly to Britain, rather than from China, the lacquer being christened 'Coromandel' from its port of landing rather than from its port of origin.

‘Kuancai’ or Coromandel lacquer was originally known in Britain as Bantam lacquer.

The name comes from the fact that Bantam was an important trading post of the English East Indies Company in Java, when the screens started to be imported to this country.

Folding screens were important elements of Chinese and Japanese households and were used for protection, concealment or as partitions.

Some of the Coromandel lacquer screens have surviving inscriptions which tell us that

NEW YORK

they were usually made as birthday presents for distinguished individuals, or as gifts to mark the retirement or promotion of high-ranking officials. There are several screens which have been dated, allowing us to stylistically date ours from the period of the 17th to the 18th century, during the Kangxi reign (1661-1722); the period when the screens started to arrive in Europe. This trade continued well into the 19th century.

Large Coromandel lacquer screens, like the one at Mallett, usually have a central portion surrounded by a large border.

The types of decoration used in the central portion can be of several types and divided into palace scenes, scenes from the world of immortals, representations of flora and fauna, panoramic views and Chinese figures in landscapes.

Our screen clearly presents one palace scene. Several tales and stories seem to have inspired these scenes (such as The Tale of the Three Kings or The Tale of the Water Margin).

Our screen represents a palace with dignitaries shown in a horizontal composition, and should be read from right to left, as with all screens. On the right hand side we see a delegation waiting to enter the walled palace, guarded by sentinels and by a statue of a lion. Within the walls, in the centre of the screen, a high dignitary is honoured in the main pavilion by a group of women playing music for two elegant dancers. By the stairs of the pavilion two groups of courtiers wait; one made up of dignitaries and the other of soldiers, representing the two pillars of authority in which Chinese society was based.

Access to the pavilion is made by two lateral staircases flanking

a strip depicting a dragon, which is a typical symbol of the power of the Emperor or other dignitaries. According to De Kesel and Dhont, “the bearers of the imperial litter mounted the steps in such a way that the emperor floated between them over the glowing ‘dragon’s path’”.

This symbol may refer to a king from the distant past, but it could also be for a senior official.

In front of this staircase there is a flower container with peonies; the king of flowers and a symbol of distinction. By their side, as symbols of longevity, two deer play. Surrounding the central scene is a main border decorated with a combination of several types of motifs. In the upper part the motif the ‘One Hundred Antiquities’ is depicted. These consist of Chinese pre-historical objects made of jade or bronze combined with flowers and vases. On the lower section are mythological beasts (animals taken from Chinese legends, the Zodiac or from Buddhist symbolism). On the border’s sides there is the sky dragon or ‘Tian long’. Dragons symbolise prosperity and happiness and the sky dragon, shown behind clouds, represents the guardian of the property of the gods.

The wonderful and unusual prune colour, the quality and complexity of the designs, the unusually high number of figures depicted (170) and the very good condition makes this screen not only a very fine example of the kuan cai technique but also an extraordinary window into this period of Chinese society, by which Westerners have always been fascinated by.

LITERATURE

William De Kesel and Greet Dhont, Cormandel Lacquer Screens. Gent, Art Media Resources Ltd., 2002.

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:52 PM

Page 105

105

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:52 PM

Page 106

LONDON

106

MALLETT

NEW YORK

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:53 PM

Page 107

LONDON

MALLETT

NEW YORK

107

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:53 PM

Page 108

LONDON

108

MALLETT

NEW YORK

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:53 PM

Page 109

LONDON

MALLETT

NEW YORK

109

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:53 PM

Page 110

LONDON

110

MALLETT

A WILLIAM IV CANTERBURY

A GEORGE III BRASS AND STEEL FIRE GRATE

An unusually large mahogany canterbury having five compartments and two drawers in the frieze. The canterbury stands on column legs enriched with carved collars and reeding at the frieze drawer height. The corners with terraced roundels to collared and fluted columnar supports, turned legs and brass castors. The front and sides are bordered with Greek key pattern Tunbridge-ware inlay.

England, circa 1830

An Adam period brass and steel fire grate, decorated with engraved ornament and having a pierced serpentine apron with bead moulding and Vitruvian scrolls. The whole surmounted by classical finials and raised on square tapered legs.

England, circa 1790 Height: 28in (71cm) Width: 33in (84cm) Depth: 17in (43cm) F2I0407

Height: 241/2in (62cm) Width: 28in (71.5cm) Depth: 18in (46cm) F2I0389

C

NEW YORK

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:54 PM

Page 111

111

Mallett Autumn 2008

112

9/23/08

12:54 PM

Page 112

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:54 PM

Page 113

LONDON

AN EARLY 18TH CENTURY GILTWOOD PIER MIRROR A very fine early 18th century giltwood pier mirror of largescale, the shaped and bevelled plate contained within a carved and gilt gesso frame, the scrolled cresting centred by a plumed male mask, the shaped apron centred by a scallop shell.

England, circa 1720 Height: 50in (127cm) Width: 261/4 in (66.5cm)

A+

A PAIR OF CHINESE PORCELAIN COCKERELS A pair of early 19th century Chinese porcelain cockerels with finely moulded heads and combs, and perched on rockwork.

China, circa 1820 Height: 13in (40.5cm) Width: 91/2in (24cm) O2I0531

MALLETT

Mirrors such as this would have been placed on the pier wall between two windows. They were highly prized for their decorative quality as well as for the value of the mirror. Towards the end of the 17th century, Bernard Perrot, working at Tourlaville, developed the casting method making it possible to create larger sheets of glass. At this time, mercury was used to produce the reflective surface.

This mirror plate is shaped and bevelled, or ‘diamond cut’, as it was termed in the 18th century.

Diamond cutting was described in Art of Glass by A. Blancourt, published in 1699, and was achieved by “grinding crystal on drift sand and water, as much as

NEW YORK

you think convenient”.

With the central mask set into the crest and scallop shell motif at the base, this giltwood frame is an early example of the uniquely British Palladian style.

Palladianism was first seen in about 1715, largely transmitted through the work of British 17th century architect, Inigo Jones.

Objects created for these interiors were based on Classical forms with symmetrical designs and features such as columns, pediments, masks and shells; their forms deriving from Antique examples.

Benjamin Goodison, a cabinet-maker in Royal service from 1726 until his death in 1767, produced mirror designs

with masks and plumed pediments, similar to the one featured here. Known examples of his work can be seen at Hampton Court Palace where he made three mirrors for Frederick, Prince of Wales, in 1732-33.

LITERATURE

F. Lewis Hinkley, Queen Anne and Georgian Looking Glasses, Old English and Early American, New York University Press, 1987.

G. Child, World of Mirrors, 16501900, Philip Wilson Publishers Limited, 1990, pp. 73-75.

F2I0410

113

Mallett Autumn 2008

114

9/23/08

12:54 PM

Page 114

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:54 PM

Page 115

LONDON

MALLETT

NEW YORK

115

A CHARLES X BRASS INLAID GUÉRIDON A Charles X circular tilt-top guéridon, the rosewood top inlaid with brass banding and vines around a central floral cartouche, supported on a triangular concave stem on three splayed legs, inlaid with further brasswork and terminating in brass castors.

France, circa 1820 Height: 283/4in (73cm) Diameter: 38in (96.5cm) F2I0416

쑯

A PAIR OF REGENCY TWELVE LIGHT CHANDELIERS A pair of late Regency twelve light cut-glass chandeliers with ormolu mounts attributed to John Blades, the base is fashioned as a bowl from overlapping prism cut rods, the socles are foliate cut-glass hung with rule drops. The centre of the chandelier is a stylised fountain surmounted by a corona of shells and foliate ornament.

Now electrified.

England, circa 1830 Height: 50in (127cm) Width: 35in (89cm) A+

John Blades is first recorded in the London Guide for 1783 at Ludgate Hill, where he remained until his death in 1829. He achieved early success, being recognised as “Cut-glass manufacturer to His Majesty” in the record of his marriage in April 1789. The first recorded surviving pieces by Blades are two chandeliers for the courtroom of the Drapers Company. During the early 19th century, Blades expanded his business into the Middle Eastern market and India, furnishing lustres, candelabra and even an extraordinary green glass gothic tomb for the Nabob of Oudh.

The shop in London expanded rapidly at the end of the Napeolonic Wars as Blades

developed new designs to compete with France in this luxury market. He employed the architect J.B. Papworth not only to design his showrooms, but also to design his suites of light fixtures, vases and even dessert services, in the Neo-Classical taste. Papworth was responsible for the introduction of long, oblong drops in 1822 which were described as being "full of prismatic beauty” by contemporary commentators.

These drops can be seen hung from the pans and rings on this pair of chandeliers.

After the death of Blades, the firm was taken over by Francis Jones and continued by his sons until 1857. The quality of the metalwork and crispness

of the glass cutting incorporated in new designs, enabled Blades to be at the forefront of glass manufacture and to be known at the time of his death as “the great glass man of Ludgate Hill”.

L2I0078

Mallett Autumn 2008

116

9/29/08

1:24 PM

Page 116

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/29/08

1:24 PM

Page 117

117

Mallett Autumn 2008

118

9/23/08

12:55 PM

Page 118

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/29/08

1:06 PM

Page 119

LONDON

A CHARLES X IRON FAUTEUIL A Charles X wrought iron and gilt metal desk chair having an arcaded coved back, scroll arms and gently splaying back legs with a removable seat.

Attributed to Gaudillot Frères & Roy. France, circa 1835 Seat height: 18in (46cm) Back height: 36in (91cm) Width: 213/4in (55cm) Depth: 18in (46cm)

TWO BOHEMIAN GILDED GLASS DECANTERS Two rare glass flasks, cut and gilded with red threads in the twisted stoppers, each with verre eglomise roundels incorporating aristocratic German armorials.

Bohemia, circa 1720 Height: 111/2in (29cm) Width: 51/2in (14cm) O2I0413 B

MALLETT

Apart from the Tula factory in Russia, metal was infrequently used for interior seating.

Nonetheless, a few firms did make iron chairs for the home.

The firm of Gaudillot Frères & Roy had existed in Besançon since 1829 producing rolled tubes, first for railings and balustrades, and later applying the technique for furniture construction such as for beds and also for garden furniture.

The tubes required two thirds less material than solid iron and their rigidity and the resulting lightness were valued as advantages in their own right, being particularly suited for the interior. A contemporary design journalist visiting the Industrial Exhibition of 1845 commented about a chair showed by Gaudillot Frères as follows: “it

NEW YORK

combines great lightness with unusual durability and is just as at home in the drawing room in winter as in the garden in summer, when you may exchange the upholstered seat with one woven from rushes”.

The Gaudillot Frères & Roy catalogue of 1845 shows some beds and garden furniture which resemble our fauteuil, namely in the paterae motif used in the cross joints and the dolphin in the curved back. The simple shape of the back of one chair shown also matches the shape of ours. The hybrid character of the fauteuil (iron made with design and comfort appropriate to interior living), makes it very unusual and also points clearly to the attribution to this French factory.

A design for a closely related chair is illustrated in the Beds and Garden Furniture catalogue from Gaudillot Frères and Roy, Bescançon, circa 1845, in Georg Himmelheber, Cast Iron Furniture and all other Forms of Furniture, Philip Wilson Publishers, London, 1996, p. 50.

F2I0418

119

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:55 PM

Page 120

LONDON

120

A PAIR OF GEORGE III GILTWOOD ARMCHAIRS A fine pair of late 18th century giltwood armchairs, the square backs with carved uprights, the arms being carved, fluted and scrolled with elbow pads supported on four sabre legs.

England, circa 1780 Back height: 341/4 in (87cm) Seat height: 17in (43cm) Width: 211/4 in (54cm) Depth: 211/4 in (54cm) F2I0421 C

MALLETT

NEW YORK

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:56 PM

Page 121

LONDON

MALLETT

NEW YORK

쑯

A PAIR OF LATE 19TH CENTURY FRENCH TÔLE CHANDELIERS A pair of late 19th century six branch polychrome tôle chandeliers naturalistically painted in the form of a bunch of flowers.

France, circa 1880 Height: 303/4in (78cm) Diameter: 201/2in (52cm) L2H0390

B

121

Mallett Autumn 2008

122

9/23/08

12:56 PM

Page 122

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:56 PM

Page 123

123

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:56 PM

Page 124

LONDON

124

MALLETT

ATTRIBUTED TO JAMES BARBUT AND PETER MONAMY Exotic Ducks and ducklings on the water's edge, with ships at anchor flying the red ensign and firing a salute, and a distant view of a coastal fort (perhaps Walmer Castle, Kent) in the distance Oil on canvas Unframed: 45 x 57in (114.3 x 145.4 cm) In a carved and gilded frame

Works of this genre are exceptionally rare in English painting, and the few examples which survive from the 17th and 18th centuries owe their origin to a small number of mid-17th century Dutch painters such as Willem Ormea (16111665) and his pupil Jakob Gillig (1636-1701); the latter of which painted a number of views of animals, fish and birds on the sea-shore in the foreground with distant prospects out to sea. These were normally done in collaboration with a marine painter: usually Abraham Willaerts in Ormea's case.

It seems certain that the present painting is also a collaboration between two hands: the marine painting is very reminiscent of the later work of Peter Monamy, whose style is based on Dutch prototypes. This type of distant coastal prospect is common enough in Monamy's work (notably in the National

Maritime Museum), but the addition of the exotic birds animals and shells in the foreground is virtually unique in 18th century England. The carefully observed sea-shells recall the work of the rare English painter James Barbut (c.1711-1788), who exhibited a few still-life oil paintings of seashells, in a style closely related to the present picture, at the Royal Academy in its early years, but who also provided ‘from nature’ drawings for books on crustaceans, worms etc. illustrative of Linnaean taxonomy.

The exotic-looking ducks though seem to derive from prototypes by Adriaen van Oolen (d. Amsterdam 1694) and, ultimately, Melchior d'Hondecoeter, the great Dutch painter of fowl (1636-1695), both of whom frequently painted such subjects.

P2I0481

NEW YORK

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:56 PM

Page 125

LONDON

MALLETT

NEW YORK

125

Mallett Autumn 2008

126

9/23/08

12:56 PM

Page 126

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:57 PM

Page 127

LONDON

A MARBLE SCULPTURE OF VENUS An Italian white marble mid-19th century model of the Crouching Venus after the Antique.

Italy, circa 1850 Height: 24in (61cm) Width of base: 91/2in (24cm) Depth of base: 13in (33cm) B

쑯

TWO PAIRS OF EARLY 18TH CENTURY JAPANNED SIDE CHAIRS Each has a red lacquer backsplat decorated with gilt chinoiseries framed by black lacquer siderails. The seat-rails are of an elaborate serpentine form and are supported on cabriole legs terminating in pad feet.

Now upholstered in velvet.

England, circa 1730 Back height: 413/4in (106cm) Seat height: 17in (43.5cm) Width: 191/4 in (49cm) Depth: 19in (48cm) A+

MALLETT

NEW YORK

Several versions of ‘The Crouching Venus’ are known, all of them thought to be copies of a Greek statue made in the third century BC, mentioned by Pliny as being by Doidalses and placed in one of the temples in Rome.

Although this ‘Venerem’ is not proven to be the same, all of the copies found from the 16th century onwards were related to this passage by the Roman scholar. These copies were Roman and all had slight variations. This sculpture of Venus, or Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, which Mallett presents, is a

copy of the statue in the Vatican Museums in Rome. The Vatican marble shows the crouching Venus with a vase at her feet, her face looking slightly down, her right arm covering her breasts and her hand elegantly raised. It was excavated at Salona in Croatia, in the second half of the 18th century. It was etched

by Francesco Piranesi, the son of Giovanni, and then taken by Napoleon’s army. It was returned to the Vatican in 1816.

Other famous versions of the Crouching Venus include the Medici Venus, which is housed

in the Uffizi in Florence and the Lely Venus, first recorded in the Gonzaga collection, which was bought by Charles II, owned by Sir Peter Lely and currently on loan from the Royal Collection to the British Museum.

Modern sculptors were touched by the quality of this Hellenistic model and Giambologna, Coysevox and Carpeaux are among those who produced other ‘Crouching Venus’ statues.

These unusual chairs are an example of a fusion of British, Dutch and Chinese tastes. With the accession of William and Mary to the English throne, England’s ties with the Low Countries were fortified. In the beginning of the 18th century, partly influenced by Dutch taste, chair design became distinctly more elegant and refined with more emphasis on comfort and the flowing scrolled lines of the arms, crestings and cabriole legs.

The result was the Queen Anne chair, typically comprising of a curvilinear frame, baluster or vase shaped backsplat and cabriole legs. During the first half of the 18th century, chair

design was largely derived from this shape and the elegant design of these chairs owes its origin to this period. Increased trade with the Far East was also influential in chair manufacture with the introduction of oriental elements to English furniture making. Japanning, a technique employed by Western craftsmen to imitate the precious lacquerwork of Chinese craftsmen, became extremely popular. In fact, European chinoiserie reached its peak during the reign of Queen Anne with the publication of A Treatise of Japanning and Varnishing written by John Stalker and George Parker in 1688. This led

to a great enthusiasm for the art and to fine examples, such as this set of four chairs, particularly distinctive with the use of japanning in both red and black, embellished with a profundity of gold decoration.

These chairs may be compared to similar examples produced by Giles Grendey, a London-based cabinet-maker who ran a thriving business from his workshop in St John’s Square. Grendey famously supplied a suite of red japanned furniture to the Spanish Duke of Infantado, comprising of at least seventy-seven pieces.

O2I0210

F2I0150

127

Mallett Autumn 2008

128

9/23/08

12:57 PM

Page 128

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:57 PM

Page 129

129

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:57 PM

Page 130

LONDON

130

A SHIBAYAMA CARVED IVORY ELEPHANT A fine quality large-scale 19th century Shibayama carved ivory elephant depicted with its trunk auspiciously raised and ornamented in the traditional manner with elaborate motherof-pearl and semi-precious stone enrichments. Draped over the elephant's back is a blanket bordered with a key pattern and having elaborate tassels at the ends, the body with densely carved mother-of-pearl flower heads in a variety of natural colours. At the centre of the back is an intricately carved lotus flower.

Japan, circa 1830 Height: 101/4 in (26cm) Width: 81/4 in (21cm) Depth: 131/2in (34cm) A+

Shibayama is an art form originating in the town of the same name in Japan.

Semi-precious shells or stones in variant colours are inlaid or applied on lacquer and ivory.

Many different items can be decorated in the Shibayama style such as vases, boxes, tablescreens and swords and even entire ivory tusks. An elephant with a raised trunk is an auspicious Asian symbol of good fortune and hospitality.

Intact Shibayama pieces are rare and so are highly valuable and collectable.

O2I0478

MALLETT

NEW YORK

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:57 PM

Page 131

131

Mallett Autumn 2008

132

9/23/08

12:57 PM

Page 132

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/29/08

2:16 PM

Page 133

LONDON

A QUEEN ANNE WALNUT SETTEE An unusual small-scale Queen Anne walnut settee having a serpentine back and outscrolled arms. It is supported on cabriole legs at the front with carved shells at the knee and terminates in pad feet.

The settee is now upholstered in late 17th century English needlework.

England, circa 1710 Back height: 381/4 in (97cm) Seat height: 213/4in (55cm) Width: 44in (112cm) Depth: 28in (71cm)

MALLETT

The wool and silk needlework is beautiful. Of English origin, circa 1700, it is of cross-stitch worked in wool with silk highlights, the brightest yellow shade and the now faded light pink. The white silkwork background has been replaced later but is wholly appropriate.

The knot strapwork and leaf design is ultimately related to Renaissance lace and cutwork

NEW YORK

patterns, adapted from pattern books and used in bed hangings, for upholstery and in small-scale on costume and in 17th century English samplers.

This textile has been saved, restored and fitted to the settee in keeping with early 18th century use.

F2I0501

FERDINAND VON RAYSKI A Golden Pheasant A naturalistically rendered watercolour of a golden pheasant.

Signed and dated.

Germany, circa 1826 Framed height: 231/2in (60cm) Framed width: 28in (71cm) P2I0169

133

Mallett Autumn 2008

134

9/23/08

12:58 PM

Page 134

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:58 PM

Page 135

LONDON

MALLETT

A PAIR OF PARQUETRY ÉTAGÈRES

A GEORGE II CARVED WALNUT STOOL

A pair of Napoleon III parquetry three-tier étagères. The tops having pierced brass galleries above frieze drawers with two shelves below. Each tier is spaced by ebonised baluster supports and has a repouse brass edge and is decorated with diamond parquetry.

France, circa 1870

A magnificent mid-18th century walnut stool, the square cabriole legs carved at the knees with acanthus leaves continuing to scrolled brackets and terminating in hairy paw feet; the seat upholstered in mossgreen damask.

England, circa 1740 171/4 in

Height: 331/2in (85cm) Width: 16in (41cm) Depth: 121/4 in (31cm) F2I0424 B

(44cm) Height: Width: 223/4in (58cm) Depth: 17in (43cm)

NEW YORK

135

This stool belongs to a small group of carved George II walnut stools which are conceived with the same strong cabriole legs of almost square section, headed by crisply carved flowing acanthus leaves and ending in heavy claw and ball feet.

A comparable pair of stools were sold through Mallett in the 1990s; one of these is stamped with the initials “IDS” which was

presumably the initials of the cabinet-maker. The construction of this stool is sufficiently robust to be able to dispense with stretchers, making the design far less cluttered with more focus on the deep and crisp carving.

F2I0312

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:58 PM

Page 136

LONDON

136

MALLETT

NEW YORK

A COLLECTION OF 19TH CENTURY COLOURED GLASS BOTTLES (from left to right) A pair of wrythen ruby bottles with stoppers Height: 13in (33cm) O2I0304

A group of three plain glass coloured bottles in green, blue and purple Height: 121/2in (32cm) O2I0303

A group of three coloured glass bottles with vertical ribs in brown, blue and green Height: 111/2in (29cm) O2I0305

Mallett Autumn 2008

9/23/08

12:58 PM

Page 137

LONDON

MALLETT

NEW YORK

137

(from left to right) A faceted amber bottle with stopper Height: 141/2in (37cm) O2I0288

A faceted blue over clear glass bottle with stopper Height: 141/2in (37cm) O2F0132

A faceted green over clear glass bottle with stopper Height: 141/2in (37cm) O2F0133

A set of three glass bottles with stoppers in red, yellow and pink Height: 131/4 in (33.5cm) O2I0146

A faceted cranberry over clear glass bottle with stopper Height: 141/2in (37cm) O2F0134

A faceted pale-green glass bottle with stopper Height: 141/4 in (36cm) O2I0253

Mallett Autumn 2008

138

9/30/08

12:54 PM

Page 138

MALLETT INC 929 Madison Avenue at 74th Street New York NY 10021 Telephone 001 212 249 8783 Fax 001 212 249 8784

MALLETT & SON (ANTIQUES) LTD 141 New Bond Street London W1S 2BS Telephone + 44 (0)20 7499 7411 Fax + 44 (0)20 7495 3179 Lanto Synge Chief Executive Thomas Woodham-Smith Managing Director Michael Smyth-Osbourne Finance Director Giles Hutchinson Smith Director Richard Cave Director Felicity Jarrett Associate Director Nicholas Wells Associate Director João Magalhães Sally Holbrook Gemma Watson

JAMES HARVEY BRITISH ART 15 Langton Street Chelsea London SW10 0JL Telephone +44 (0)20 7352 0015 Website: www.jamesharveybritishart.com Email: info@jhba.co.uk

Henry Neville President Justin Evershed-Martin

Telephone +44 (0)20 7495 5375 Fax +44 (0)20 7495 3197 Website: www.madebymeta.com Email: hello@madebymeta.com Giles Hutchinson Smith Director Henry Neville Director Alison Sachs Managing Director Eleonore Halluitte Production Manager

MALLETT PLC DIRECTORS

James Harvey Director Elizabeth Dellert Thomas Mangnall

George Magan* Chairman Lanto Synge Chief Executive Michael Smyth-Osbourne Lord Daresbury* James Heneage* Giles Hutchinson Smith Eloy Michotte* Henry Neville Thomas Woodham-Smith *Non executive

VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.mallettantiques.com Email: info@mallettantiques.com

Copyright All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Terms and conditions All business transactions are subject to our standard terms and conditions of sale, copies of which are available on request.

© Mallett & Son (Antiques) Ltd 2008 Designed by Sinclair Communications Printed in England by BAS