FOREWORD Location, location, location is all estate agents talk about. And provenance, provenance, provenance is all antique dealers talk about. In this catalogue there are antiques once owned by the Earl of Chesterfield, Walter P. Chrysler Jr., Captain Norman Colville, the Earl of Hardwick, the Countess of Harewood and the Earl of Harrington, not to mention Sir James Horlick, Barbara Hutton, the 1st Duke of Leeds, Lord Leigh and Lord Revelstoke, as well as the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham and Sir Rowland Winn, and firms such as Hotspur Ltd., Jeremy Ltd., M. Harris & Sons and Frank Partridge & Sons. These are just a few of the great collectors or dealers represented in this catalogue, alongside many recent private collections. Premier designers and makers also feature heavily in these pages, with work credited to them either unequivocally or by attribution. Their names are a roll call of supreme craftsmanship and skill, from John Blades, Matthew Boulton and J. & W. Cary the globe makers to Thomas Chippendale, Darmarnin & Sons of Malta and Gillows. Included too are Benjamin Goodison, Giles Grendey, Pierre Langlois and John Linnell, not to mention Mayhew and Ince, James Moore and James Moore the Elder, Parker & Perry, William Pocock, William Riddick, William Vile, Vulliamy the clockmaker and Wright and Elwick. Alongside the names of collectors and craftsmen, the names of some of the greatest British houses also resonate through the provenances recorded in this catalogue. Here are Beningbrough Hall, Browsholme Hall and Castleweilan Castle; Chatsworth, Elveston Castle and Harewood House; Hornby Castle, Kiveton and Nostell Priory; Stoneleigh Abbey, Wentworth Woodhouse and Wimpole Hall. These houses embody a history of Britain in themselves. I hardly need to draw your attention to specific pieces: they speak for themselves as items of supreme quality, design, condition, patination and authenticity. I have included the stunning set of four girandoles on page 224 only because they are unique; they have been sold at the time of going to print. I would particularly like to thank all my loyal staff whose hard work makes the production of our catalogue possible. Philip Paddock from P. J. Gates photography should also have a little credit! I look forward to seeing you at our London showroom in Bruton Street, at the Masterpiece Fair in London in June, or at the International Fine Art and Antiques Fair in New York in October. Do please look at our newly redesigned and constantly updated website at www.ronaldphillipsantiques.com. And please call me on 020 7493 2341 or email me at simon@ronaldphillips.co.uk for further information, or to ask me for help in sourcing that special item.
Simon Phillips April 2013
Right: Simon Phillips with Rolo