Mallett Catalogue 2008

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2008

2008

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

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A hundred years in London – and five in New York It was in 1908 that Mallett moved to London from Bath and just five years ago that we opened our business in New York. Through our history many nuances of change have taken place, always linked to a devotion to quality and a pursuit of the very special.

We have no age restrictions in our stock. Regardless of the date of origin we steadfastly offer only the best in quality and style of each period. Mallett naturally, however, focuses on magnificent antique English Georgian furniture and remarkable Continental 18th and 19th century pieces. But we have also always advocated other outstanding and beautiful things beyond these important fields. We are increasingly dealing in 20th century furniture alongside the great classics of walnut, mahogany and satinwood. Furthermore we are soon to present truly exciting contemporary items; these are to be revealed later in the year in a separate publication from Meta, our new subsidiary business.

This catalogue brings you a selection from our current wide ranging collections of the great and the decorative that includes many adventurous alternatives of fine furniture and objects made over the past three hundred years. We are proud of our broad palette, only partly shown here. Do please look at our website (www.mallettantiques.com) for a broader view and best of all visit us in Bond Street and New York.

Lanto Synge Chief Executive

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A DEMI-LUNE CONSOLE JARDINIERE An unusual small-sized Empire mahogany side table standing on four columnar legs with a mirror backplate and a white marble top, the legs are supported at the base with stretchers in star form and they contain a shelf as a jardiniere, the mirror backplate can be raised. The whole piece is enriched with fine quality ormolu mounts; the larger panels of neo-classical charioteers with cupids and the smaller figures representing a young couple in gardening pursuits.

France, circa 1810 Height: 443/4in (113.5cm) Width: 21in (53.5cm) Depth: 141/4 in (36cm) F2H0107

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A WALNUT KIDNEY DESK A fine quality Victorian kidney desk in richly figured burr walnut, the top lined with faded green leather, above three drawers in the frieze and three further drawers in each pedestal, each with recessed campaign style brass handles, on either side of the recess there is a locking mechanism, behind a flap for the drawers.

At the back there are shelves.

England, circa 1860 Height: 291/2in (75cm) Width: 521/2in (133cm) Depth: 271/2in (70cm) F2I0028

The kidney desk originated from a table with a kidney-shaped top. This design, often referred to as a haricot, first appeared as a writing or dressing-table during the Louis XV period (1715-74) in France before being introduced into England in the late 18th century. The kidney table evolved to incorporate drawers and often small shelves for books and thus became the favoured knee-hole form desk of the Sheraton and Victorian periods. Its practicality of shape and design as well as its pleasing and innovative aesthetics made it very popular.

The finest examples of this

style of desk were made by Gillows of Lancaster in the late 18th century and then

by Holland and Sons of London in the mid-19th century.

ILLUSTRATED

The design for this form of desk, ‘Gillows Estimate Sketch Books’, no. 5293. Image courtesy of Westminster City Archive.

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A TORTOISESHELL CABINET ON STAND A mid-18th century tortoiseshell veneered and brass mounted cabinet with mahogany and ebony crossbanding throughout, the panelled doors enclosing three long drawers and a central cupboard with two short drawers to either side, the internal cupboard with three secret drawers behind a false back, the drawers with brass drop ring handles and mahogany lining. The cabinet mounted on a modern giltwood stand.

Germany, circa 1740 Height without stand: 21in (53cm) Height with stand: 51in (129cm) Width: 22in (56cm) Depth: 123/4in (31cm) F2H0384

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A PAIR OF FRENCH SCHOOL ITALIAN VIEWS A pair of mid-18th century Italianate landscapes, attributed to Lallemand. One with a hunting scene and another with travelling peasants.

Oil on canvas.

France, circa 1750 Framed: 343/4 x 28in (88.5 x 71cm) P2G0195

Jean-Baptiste Lallemand (17161803) was born and grew up in Dijon and trained as a tailor.

In 1739, however, he moved to Paris to study painting, and in September 1745 he was made a member of the Academie de St Luc and established as a notable topographical and landscape painter. It was here, too, in 1755 that he taught landscape drawing to Robert Adam.

Lallemand left Paris in 1747 and moved to Rome, where he was in touch with such French artists as Vernet and the architect Charles de Wailly.

Here he worked on frescoes in the Palazzo Corsini and painted

four large paintings of antique architecture for the Anitchkov Palace in St Petersburg.

Lallemand returned to France in 1761, exhibiting a number of views of Naples and Rome at the Academie de St Luc. Between 1770 and 1773 he was in Dijon, where he was a member of the jury for the new École de Dessin and it was at this time that he began contributing drawings for the 12 volume ‘Voyage Pittoresque de la France’, providing 140 views in all. In 1783 he exhibited a number of landscapes at the Salon de Correspondance.

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AN EMPIRE STEEL SAFE A rare and unusual Empire steel safe. Each face is enriched with fielded panels with borders inset with paterae. The doors open via a two level key locking system and a brass name code on the right hand door. The safe bears a brass maker’s label ‘Fecit Georget á Paris anno 1818.’

France, circa 1818 Height: 641/4 in (163 cm) Width: 42in (107cm) Depth: 17in (43cm) F2H0456

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A MANTEL CLOCK

BY OSMOND An outstanding early neoclassical Louis XV gilt bronze mantel clock. The circular dial is framed with a ring of laurel leaves and surmounted by a classical vase with ring handles, which stands on facing high relief gilt bronze foliate scrolls, which, in turn support swags, a motif repeated below the dial.

The clock stands on a fluted breakfront column, with a laurel leaf band beneath. The whole is supported on a rectangular plinth with concave faces enriched by a recessed panel of guilloche, terminating in flattened bun feet. The eightday two-train striking

A GEORGE I WALNUT STOOL A fine quality George I walnut stool having a shaped front and back rail and standing on cabriole legs with a carved shell at the knee and terminating in ball and claw feet. Now upholstered in French mid18th century needlework.

The stool, England, circa 1720 Height: 18in (46cm) Width: 223/4in (58cm) Depth: 19in (48cm) F2H0516

movement has an anchor escapement and the pendulum has a silk suspension.

Signed Osmond.

France, circa 1760 Height: 18in (46cm) Width: 83/4in (22cm) Depth: 61/4 in (16cm)

An identical example of this outstanding transitional mantel clock can be found in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and is also illustrated, along with its original designs in Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Proschel, Vergoldete Bronzen I, Klinkhardt & Biermann, Munchen, 1986, p.

194-195, fig. 3.12.4, 3.12.5.

O2C0391 The clock is signed OSMOND, which refers to Robert Osmond who was a bronze founder of considerable standing in his day and a specialist in clock cases, indeed his stamp is only found on clock cases. The significance of the Osmond stamp is

intriguing. In some cases, it may mean that the founder also made the original model.

In 1746, he had become a 'maître fondeur en terre et sable'. In 1756 he was elected 'Juré des Fondeurs'. The fame of Osmond spread and by the end of the 19th century the Parisian bronze founder, Alfred Bourdeley, offered for sale copies described as 'modèle d'Osmont' [sic]. Osmond was a friend of Caffièri and both were among the founders who signed the articles governing the copying of designs on 21 April 1766.

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A BUTLER’S COMPANION A rare and unusual Chippendale period flame mahogany butler’s companion, with bottle compartment for nine bottles, a discrete cupboard and fold over flaps.

England, circa 1780 Height: 333/4in (85.8cm) Width: 20in (51cm) Depth: 20in (51cm) F2H0582

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CLASSICAL RUINS An oil on canvas capriccio of figures amid Roman ruins; with stylised versions of the Pyramid of Cestius and the Arch of Constantine, the Pantheon and others. Each monument is shown in a rusticated form.

In the manner of Giovanni Paolo Panini (1692-1765) Italy, circa 1780 Framed: 551/2 x 41in (141 x 104cm) P2F0107

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A MATCHED PAIR OF LIBRARY ARMCHAIRS A matched pair of mahogany library armchairs, the shaped backs with scroll sides above fluted columns with overstuffed sides and arms, faced with carved roundels above proud palms, supported on a fluted front rail and reeded turned legs at the front and having plain side rails and

outward splayed back legs, terminating in brass castors.

One chair, England, circa 1815, the other of a later date.

Back height: 40in (102cm) Seat height: 20in (51cm) Depth: 281/2in (72cm) F2H0399

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A PAIR OF ITALIAN PAINTED COMMODES A pair of mid-18th century Roman painted two door commodes. Each decorated on all sides and the interior with domestic still life ‘trompe l’oeil’ with various elements of kitchen equipment and simple ingredients. Each panel bordered with a simulated wooden frame. The original paintwork of these commodes is in a remarkable original state of conservation.

Italy, circa 1765 F2H0250 Height: 361/2in (93cm) Width: 44in (112cm) Depth: 221/2in (57cm)

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A REGENCY ROSEWOOD WRITING DESK An extremely fine Regency brass mounted rosewood writing table in the manner of John McLean, having its original tooled morocco leather top with an anthemion pattern gallery on three sides, the frieze with two drawers at the front and dummy drawers at the reverse, all with beaded borders, brass knob handles and anthemion escutcheons, raised on lyre shaped end supports, joined by an arched stretcher, outlined in brass beading and raised on splayed feet with brass acanthus castors.

England, circa 1810 Height: 301/4 in (77cm) Width: 433/4in (111cm) Depth: 233/4in (60cm) F2H0395

This very elegant writing table with lyre end supports symbolic of Apollo, the classical god of music, beautifully illustrates the most refined early Regency furniture, richly veneered in rosewood contrasting with the gilt mounts. Such work has been traditionally associated with the work of the celebrated Regency cabinet-maker, John McLean (1770-1825), who is believed to have supplied furniture to Carlton House for the Prince Regent as well as documented examples at Saltram House, Devon.

McLean’s use of gilt metal mounts exhibits the French influence popularised by the Prince Regent’s Francophile circle.

There is a small group of almost identical Regency rosewood writing tables almost certainly by the same accomplished maker. They all share the identical brass gallery, distinctive anthemion escutcheons, beaded mounts and stylised acanthus sabots and are veneered in highly figured rosewood. Two of these examples were formerly at Belton House, Lincolnshire, and Orwell Park, Suffolk, respectively, and the third and fourth, now in private collections, were sold by Mallett in 1956 and 2002. A related table with an almost identical

upper structure was sold from the celebrated Moller collection in 1993. A further well documented example with an arched stretcher was formerly in the collection of Charles, 7th Marquess of Londonderry and is shown in situ in the ‘Boudoir’ at Londonderry House, London

by Country Life in 1937.

Londonderry House, a particularly grand and aristocratic early 19th century mansion, was one of the great political houses situated prominently on Park Lane but sadly redeveloped in 1962.

Overall the quality is consistently fine and the style distinctive.

John McLean of 55 Upper Marylebone Street was one of the major names of London cabinet-making in the early 19th century. Influenced by the style of the late Louis XVI and Empire periods, he made furniture to appeal to the taste of those who still favoured the earlier French style, inspired by the likes of Weisweiler and Reisener. Interestingly, on his trade labels he advertised himself as specialising in ‘Elegant Parisian Furniture’ and in various advertisements placed in The Times he also includes these words.

McLean was also influenced

by Thomas Sheraton and subscribed to his Cabinet

Directory of 1803. There he is listed among the master cabinet-makers, a small work table of his being described by Sheraton: ‘The design ...taken from one executed by Mr M'Lean in Mary-le-bone street, near Tottenham court road, who finishes these small articles in the neatest manner’.

Documentation of McLean’s output is minimal but there are accounts for furnishing for the 5th Earl of Jersey at Middleton Park, Oxfordshire and for his house in Berkeley Square, London. Also, a stamped games table exists at Saltram in Devon and another similar table from Grimsthorpe in Lincolnshire is recorded. Other examples likely to be by McLean can be seen at Harewood House, Yorkshire and a fine large writing desk at Culzean Castle, Ayrshire.

It is notable that McLean’s idiosyncratic style stands out uniquely and consistently amidst the predominant, late Neo-classical revival fashion of the English Regency era.

LITERATURE

A comparable Regency rosewood writing table with arched stretcher was in the collection of Charles, 7th Marquess of Londonderry and is illustrated in Country Life, 10 July 1937, in the ‘Boudoir’ at Londonderry House.

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A PAIR OF IRISH PEAT BUCKETS A magnificent pair of Irish mahogany large-scale peat buckets of the finest quality and of a form previously not recorded. Of oval shape, these are of traditional construction with brass bands at the base and near the top, with brass carrying handles. The woodwork is carved with a spiral rib pattern and the front and back of each has a carved lion’s mask.

Fitted with modern brass liners.

Ireland, circa 1770 Height: 26in (66cm) Width: 20in (51cm) Depth: 141/2in (37cm) F2H0462

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A TWELVE LIGHT CHANDELIER BY F & C OSLER An important twelve light cutglass Victorian chandelier by F & C Osler made for the Indian market. The downswept branches in groups of three with a central glass baluster and finial, issuing from a cut-glass inverted vase shaped element, surmounted by cut ball drop hung canopy and star finial.

The baluster stem terminating with a drop hung pan. The base of the chandelier with strings of drops swagged to the arms.

The branches with turnover drip pans, glass collars and hurricane shades, engraved with swirled acanthus leaves; being typical of chandeliers supplied by Osler for the Indian market. The storm shades original, the metalwork is not stamped by Osler.

England, circa 1860 Height: 52in (132cm) Width: 50in (127cm) L2I0077

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쑯 A PAIR OF G. JACOB

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GILTWOOD BERGÈRES A magnificent pair of Louis XV giltwood bergères of unusually generous proportions. The arms have scroll terminals and are supported by a fluted, further scroll, terminating in an acanthus leaf. Each chair stamped G. Jacob, Paris 1765.

France, circa 1765 Height: 401/2in (103cm) Width: 291/2in (75cm) Depth: 22in (53cm) PROVENANCE

Château de Vincy, Switzerland.

The castle was home to the Vasserot family, of Hugenot descent.

F2H0089

Georges Jacob (b. Cheny (Yonne) 1739. d. Paris 1814) was one of the most renowned and prolific 18th century French chairmakers. He founded a dynasty of cabinet-makers spanning three generations between 1765 and 1847. His work spans the Louis XV period through to the Consulat. The orphaned son of a Burgundian farm worker, he went to Paris at the age of sixteen and became apprenticed to Jean-Baptiste Leroúge in 1756. Jacob continued his six years apprenticeship with Leroúge's widow and it was in this apprenticeship that he formed compagnonnages with Boucault, Forget and above all, Louis Delanois, with whom he remained particularly close, becoming godfather to his second son. Jacob was appointed a maître menuisier on 4th September 1765 and set up in business in the rue de

Bourbon. In 1767 he married Jeanne-Germaine Loyer, with whom he had five children, two of which became joiners.

In time he moved to the rue du Cléry where he stayed until 1775, one street away from Delanois's workshop in the rue du Petit Carreau. He finally moved to the rue de Meslay in 1775, from where some of his finest work was issued and his business prospered. From 1781 he held various offices in the Corporation des menuisiersébénistes, becoming syndicadjoint (1788) then syndic (1789).

Thanks to his friendship with the Republican sympathiser and Neo-classical painter, Jacques-Louis David, he survived the Revolutionary years, both financially and personally, with relative impunity; his previous royal and aristocratic patronage making him a prime suspect of the Comité de salut public. In 1791, the Le Chapelier law, which removed the guild system, helped him diversify his workshop allowing him to include cabinet-making and mounting bronzes; within five years he had four flourishing workshops. He sold his shop and stock and rented his workshops to his sons, Georges II (17681803) and François HonoréGeorges (1770-1841) who worked under the name of ‘Jacob Frères’. However, when Georges II died in 1803 his father returned to the business going into a nine year partnership with his surviving son under the name of ‘JacobDesmalter et Cie’. The business expanded and the furniture fed an illustrious clientele.

Unfortunately under François, the business went bankrupt in

1813 and this affected his father financially, leaving him to die an infamous and impecunious death.

At the time of the production of this pair of chairs Jacob's prolific workshop was solely making seat furniture and some console tables. A few years later the quality of his work and his reputation secured the patronage of the crown with the furnishing of the apartments of the Compte d'Artois at the Palais du Temple and the Pavilion de Bagatelle.

In 1784, the new Intendant general des Meubles de la Couronne, Thierry de Ville d'Avray and the new Finance Minister, Calonne, decided on a new renovation policy for the royal residences, which made Georges Jacob one of the chairmakers by appointment to the Crown. Jacob would sometimes work individually, sometimes in competition or in association with the chair-makers Boulard and frequently, Séné. He provided seat furniture, designed by Hubert Robert, for the Garde-Meuble and the Menus-Plaisirs for the Châteaux of Versailles, the Petit-Trianon, Fontainbleu, Saint-Cloud and Rambouillet. In addition he had several important private clients. Over his long career he was quick to embrace the latest tastes and his inspiration and sources were diverse, for example the chairs he made from Jacques-Louis David's designs in the ‘Neo-antique’ in 1784. Within specific styles his talent enabled him to develop a personal style which revealed itself in generous, yet strictly balanced proportions, careful carving and exquisite decoration over the whole frame.

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A PAIR OF PIEDMONTESE PAINTED COMMODES A pair of Piedmontese painted two drawer commodes decorated ‘sans travers’, the drawers have a pale-blue ground bordered with a yellow ochre laurel leaf and retaining the original lacquered brass hardware; the drawers flanked by column pilasters which are reeded and fluted with foliate capitals and a beaded foot; the sides are decorated similarly to the front and have quarter

pilasters at the rear, the commodes stand on turned tapering circular column legs decorated to match the pilasters above. Now having replacement red marble tops.

Italy, circa 1775 Height: 343/4in (88.5cm) Width: 511/4 in (130cm) Depth: 253/4in (65.5cm) F2H0466

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쑯 A PAIR OF FAMILLE

VERTE LAMPS A pair of mid-19th century famille verte vases of bulbous form, the bodies profusely decorated with phoenix amongst flowering branches, mounted as lamps with pleated silk shades.

China, circa 1860 Height of vases: 12 in (30.5cm) L2F0045

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A REGENCY DISH LIGHT The circular bronze rim, enriched with chased gilt metal mounts, enclosing an unusual Regency period dish, dressed with faceted drops, supporting eight candle nozzles. The four original bronze chains suspended from a top cut-glass canopy, similarly dressed with period drops having a rare and unusual centrepiece of three tiers of fronds with graduating chains of drops, surmounted by a faceted finial at the top. All in the finest cut-glass.

England, circa 1810

A PAIR OF RUSSIAN VASES A large-scale pair of porcelain campagna form vases richly decorated in gilt and polychrome, the vases enriched with birds, flowers and butterflies. The bases are enriched with naturalistically painted acanthus leaves, the whole standing on simulated marble plinths. Restored.

Russia, circa 1840 Height: 21in (53cm) Width: 141/2in (36cm) O2H0219

Height: 44in (112cm) Width: 20in (51cm) L2I0009

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A PAIR OF SATINWOOD CARD TABLES A pair of late 18th century George III demi-lune satinwood card tables in the manner of Thomas Sheraton, the tops inlaid with boxwood in the form of a fan within a walnut crossbanded arch, banded and inlaid throughout with rosewood, boxwood and ebony.

The tops opening to reveal a baize playing surface, all supported on square tapering legs; the back legs with brass locking latch and all with capped feet.

England, circa 1790 Height: 29in (74cm) Width: 353/4in (91cm) Depth: 18in (46cm) F2H0393

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쑯 A PAIR OF BIRD

DIORAMAS A charming and highly unusual group of Austrian provincial carved and naturalistically painted wooden models of songbirds. Each bird is shown attached to a twig perch that is in turn mounted on a carved plinth. They are now framed as a pair of dioramas with a background of branches.

The birds, Austria, circa 1860 Height: 54in (137cm) Width: 401/4 in (102cm) O2F0222

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AN EARLY 19TH CENTURY BRONZE MODEL OF A CANNON An early 19th century bronze model of a cannon having a polished iron mounted walnut carriage with the painted inscription “MA. BA. 1805”. The cannon has the inscription “No 3789, Barcelona 12 de Abril de 1805” as well as the engraved cipher of King Charles IV of Spain. At the tip of the barrel, it has its name “Medrano” engraved on a ribbon. It also has two small inscriptions on the supports, one saying “Cobre de America” (copper from America) and the other with its probable weight.

Spain, dated 12th April 1805 Overall length: 171/4 in (44cm) O2H0212

In 1783 a new Ordenanza (law) was passed in Spain to regulate artillery systems. Inspired by the French General Gribeauval's system, which was introduced to replace La Valliere system, it presented itself as much more suitable for field battles. This new law was established mainly due to the influence of a treatise by Tomas de Morla.

He was a renowned artillery engineer, and illustrates this model of cannon in Tratado de artilleria: Coleccion de las explicaciones de las láminas del tratado de artilleria para el use de la Academia de Caballeros Cadetes del Expresado Real Cuerpo and Laminas pertenecientes al Tratado de artilleria que se enseña en el Real Colegio Militar de Segovia, Madrid, 1803, Plate 17, Art. 2, Fig. 2. As said, the Gribeauval system became law in 1783

with 5 calibre types (a24, a16, a12, a8 and a4) the a12 had a long and a short barrel length option as did the a8. For the a4 there were three barrel length options. In all there were 9 types of cannon approved.

Our model is, most probably, the strongest of all, the a24 field gun. This system created a highly manoeuvrable campaign army, since the size of the cannon were smaller, lighter and more manoeuvrable, able to fire twice per minute. The outside of the cannon became more plain and without adornment, except the crowned royal cipher or coat of arms and the name of the cannon on a ribbon. Ours has the name of "Medrano" that could be translated as “that which provokes fear or awe”. This type of cannon was used by the Spanish Army in the Peninsular

War (1808-1814) as well as in America. Carlos or Charles IV of Bourbon (1748-1819) was King of Spain from 1788 until 1808.

He was forced to abdicate in favour of Joseph Bonaparte after being captured by Napoleon’s army.

Illustrated in Tomas de Morla, Laminas pertenecientes al Tratado de artilleria que se enseña en el Real Colegio Militar de Segovia, Madrid, 1803, Plate 17, Art. 2, Fig. 2.

LITERATURE

Tomas de Morla, Tratado de artilleria: Coleccion de las explicaciones de las láminas del tratado de artilleria para el use de la Academia de Caballeros Cadetes del Expresado Real Cuerpo, Madrid, 1803.

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A PAIR OF IMARI AS LAMPS A pair of 19th century Japanese Imari caddy vases with panels of stylised flowers and mythical creatures, mounted as lamps with silk shades.

The vases, Japan, circa 1870 Height of vase: 12in (31cm) Overall height: 24in (61cm) L2F0400

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A VIEW OF PAESTUM A fine large-scale early 19th century perspective view of the temples at Paestum showing two shepherds in the foreground. Indistinctly signed Pomardi, bottom left, and dated 1803 Watercolour on paper Framed : 35 x 49in (89 x 125cm) P2C0208

Simone Pomardi (1760 - 1830) was a watercolour painter who concentrated on architectural illustrations and designs, particularly from antiquity.

Paestum was for centuries a city shrouded in mystery. Originally known as Poseidonia, it was one of the Greek colonies established by the Achaens from the North-west Peloponnese.

Founded from the infamous city of Sybaris, the earliest settlers are believed to have arrived around the mid-7th century BC. Named after the most important of their gods, the city flourished and became one of the most significant cities in the gulf of Salerno. Around 400 BC it fell to a tribe of local barbarians called the Lucanians, who were defeated by the Romans in 273 BC, whereupon the city was renamed Paestum.

Three great Doric temples dominate the site. The temple

of Poseidon (still so called despite being known to have been dedicated to Hera) is thought to date from around 460 BC. It is the only existing Greek temple with internal colonnades surmounted by smaller Doric columns. Equally interesting is the southernmost of the temples, the Basilica which, also dedicated to Hera (the main divinity of Paestum), dates from around 530 BC. The temple is particularly unusual in that it has nine columns across the ends and a row of columns down the middle of the interior.

The third of the principal temples is dedicated to Ceres, and dating from around 510 BC, has been referred to as one of the most prized examples of

Greek architecture in Italy.

The city was occupied until late in the 9th century AD, whereupon it was abandoned, suffering the combination of a malaria epidemic and the everpresent threat of the invading Saracens, who had recently occupied nearby Agropolis.

Throughout the following centuries, the city remained undisturbed until around 1750 when the ruins were discovered by archaeologists, an event which attracted international interest. Scenes depicting Paestum were thus in great demand, servicing the continuing fascination with mysterious lost civilisations and perpetuating the trend towards Neo-classical designs.

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A SET OF FOUR LANDSCAPES A set of four mid-18th century Italian landscapes.

Each depicting an idealized bucolic scene with figures besporting themselves in the foreground. (Oil on panel) Circle of Paolo Monaldi.

Italy, circa 1740 Framed: Height: 333/4in (85.5cm) Width: 201/2in (52cm) F2H0332

The Bamboccianti were genre painters active in Rome from about 1625 until the end of the 17th century. Most were Dutch and Flemish artists who brought existing peasant traditions from 16th century Netherlandish art with them to Italy, and generally created small cabinet paintings or etchings of the everyday life of the lower classes in Rome

and its countryside.

These paintings have been traditionally interpreted as a realistic “true portrait of Rome and its popular life”, “without variation or alteration” of what the artist sees. Typical subjects include food and beverage sellers, farmers and milkmaids at work, soldiers at rest and play, and beggars, or, as Salvator Rosa lamented in the mid-17th

century, “rougues, cheats, pickpockets, bands of drunks and gluttons, scubby tobacconists, barbers, and other ‘sordid’ subjects.” In contrast to their painted subjects, the works themselves sold for high prices to esteemed collectors.

Their paintings of everyday Roman life continued into the 19th century through the works of Paolo Monaldi.

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쑯 A PAIR OF

CHINOISERIE BUSTS A very rare pair of mid-18th century Piedmontese carved wooden polychrome busts, depicting male and female Chinese. Both are rendered in stylised versions of Chinese garb, the man wears a hat and the woman's hair is tied back.

Each is standing on its original carved wooden plinth.

Italy, circa 1760 Height: 271/2in (70cm) Width: 161/2in (42cm) Depth: 61/2in (17cm) O2H0580

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A MUGHAL CABINET An exceptional large-scale late 17th century Indian Mughal cabinet. The carcass of the cabinet is in hardwood overlaid with ivory and tortoiseshell panels, the ivory has foliate penwork decoration.

The cover has canted sides and opens to reveal a velvet lined interior. The front has a pair of similarly decorated doors enclosing twelve drawers with panelled fronts, gilt brass handles and mounts.

Throughout, the work is of the finest quality.

Gujarat or Sind, Western India, circa 1700 Height: 181/2in (47cm) Width: 22in (56cm) Depth: 16in (41cm) F2E0604

This exceptionally large casket is an example of a series produced in and near the cosmopolitan trading ports of Western India from the late 16th century onwards. Inlaid or veneered with precious materials such as mother-ofpearl and as here, ivory and tortoiseshell, these distinctive objects drew on Islamic influences for their overall form and use of inlay work, while the multiple drawers concealed behind panelled doors are Continental European in origin. The lush foliate decoration recalls designs on textiles of the same date from this part of India. These caskets were often presented as gifts to Western travellers, which explains why most examples are to be found in European museums and collections.

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A PAIR OF PARCEL-GILT WALL BRACKETS

A PAIR OF DELFT POLYCHROME VASES

An exceptional pair of parcelgilt rococo brackets. Each has a shaped white painted platform with polychrome foliate decoration below.

The supports are mirrored with an elaborate shell scroll flanked with polychrome foliate carving. The paintwork is in an exceptional state of conservation.

Southern Germany, circa 1755

A rare pair of mid-18th century Dutch delft polychrome chinoiserie vases and covers.

The bodies are octagonal baluster form and are decorated at the front with vignettes of two ladies; one bearing a parasol and at the back with a floral spray. The covers follow octagonal form and are surmounted by elaborately shaped finials. The design attributed to Cornelius Pronk.

Both lids with repaired chips.

Low Countries, circa 1760

Height: 12in (30.5cm) Width: 11in (28cm) Depth: 73/4in (19.5cm)

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A BRASS EMPIRE DAY BED An unusual Empire brass day bed. The shaped back has at its centre a laurel wreath surmounted by a ball finial.

The sides have scroll arms above rails and supports.

The whole stands on columnar legs terminating in brass castors. Now having silk covered cushions.

France, circa 1820 Back height: 41in (104cm) Seat height: 211/2in (55cm) Width: 771/4 in (196cm) Depth: 34in (86cm)

Height: 13in (33cm) F2H0463

F2H0268 O2D0074

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A PAIR OF GEORGE III CARD TABLES

A GEORGE III PEMBROKE TABLE

An extremely fine and rare pair of George III satinwood demilune card tables, the ‘D’ shaped tops inlaid with scrolling vines and grapes in marquetry, all supported on square tapering legs inlaid with classical marquetry, terminating in topie feet. These tables and the next shown were made en suite.

England, circa 1780

An extremely fine and rare George III satinwood Pembroke table, the unusual shaped top inlaid with scrolling vines and grapes in marquetry, the front with a discrete bowed drawer, all supported on square tapering legs, terminating in brass castors. This table and the previous pair shown were made en suite.

England, circa 1780

Height: 291/2in (75cm) Width: 341/4 in (87cm) Depth: 171/4 in (44cm)

Height: 281/4 in (72cm) Width: 441/2in (113cm) Depth: 301/4 in (77cm)

F2H0429 F2H0430

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A FAMILLE VERTE COCKEREL

A PAIR OF OPALINE CANDLESTICKS

A single famille verte 19th century cockerel, with raised right leg, on a stylised rocaille base.

China, circa 1860

A pair of Louis Philippe opaline candlesticks of baluster form decorated with gilt floral sprays framed within lines of gilt, standing on stepped circular bases. Each has a machined gilt bronze socle.

France, circa 1850

Height: 15in (38cm) Width: 9in (23cm) Depth: 5in (13cm)

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Height: 8in (20cm) O2D0350 O2F0189

쑯 A SET OF SIX GERMAN EARLY

19TH CENTURY MARQUETRY HALL CHAIRS A set of six early 19th century German acajou mouchete inlaid side chairs. Each having a scroll back and bow fronted seat rails, with turned baluster form legs at the front and sabre legs at the back. Throughout, the chairs are delicately and profusely inlaid with foliate marquetry and paterae. The front legs have particularly finely wrought stringing.

Germany, circa 1825 Seat height: 171/2in (44.5cm) Back height: 35in (89cm) Width: 183/4in (47.5cm) Depth: 161/2in (42cm) F2H0323

These chairs are similar in design to chairs supplied for the bedroom of Queen Therese (1792-1854) at the Residenz Munich, made by Leo von Klenze (1784-1864) and Melchior Frank (1783-1855), Munich, 1834-35.

Illustrated in Herausgegeben von Brigitte Langer, Pracht und Zeremoniell-Die Möbel der Residenz München, Bayerische Verwaltung der saatlichen Schlösser, Gärten und Seen, München und Hirmer Verlag GmbH, München, 2002, fig. 2, p. 253.

The Residenz served as the seat of government and residence of the Bavarian dukes, electors and kings from 1508 to

1918. It began in 1385 as a castle at the north-eastern corner of the town (the Neuveste, or new citadel) and was transformed over the centuries into a magnificent palace, its buildings and gardens extending further and further into the town.

The architecture, interior decoration and works of art collected in the Residenz range in time from the Renaissance, via the early Baroque and Rococo periods to the Neoclassical era. They all bear witness to the discriminating taste and the political ambition of the Wittelsbach dynasty.

The Residenz houses a number of museums and

monuments maintained by the Bavarian Administration of State-owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes (the Residenz museum itself, the Treasury, the Cuvilliés-Theater and the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche), along with other cultural institutions.

The complex as a whole is one of the largest museums in Bavaria.

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THE VISIT OF THE DUKE AND DUCHESS DE BERRY TO SEE THE KING'S ELEPHANT AT THE ROTUNDA OF THE ROYAL NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, PARIS Signed lower left and dated: “J B Berré 1817” Oil on canvas Unframed: 341/2 x 421/4 in (88 x 115cm) Framed: 41 x 52in (104.1 x 132.1cm) In a fine carved and giltwood frame Exhibited: Paris, Salon of 1817, number 50, where entitled: “L'eléphant du jardin du Roi au moment où il est visité par LL.AA.RR. le duc et la duchesse de Berry. Le groupe de personnages en arrière est formé par les dames de la suite, les professeurs et les instructeurs du jardin du Roi. (Esquisse terminé de grand tableau dont l'auteur s'occupe en ce moment)” Paris, Galérie Charpentier, 1944-45 PROVENANCE

Formerly in the collection of Professor Guy Ledoux-Lebard.

P2H0553

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Jean-Baptiste Berré (1777-1838) was a pupil at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts in the city of his birth. He began exhibiting in Paris at the Salon in 1802 (a Mater Dolorosa) and moved there permanently in 1808, where he concentrated on animal painting in a style which has strong echoes of the work of the Swiss painter JacquesLaurent Agasse who had been in Paris until 1799. He was a regular exhibitor at the annual Salon exhibitions until 1837.

He seems to have met the Duke and Duchess de Berry (see below) sometime around 1816, and to have painted several pictures for them, including his two Salon exhibits for 1819, which depicted animals in a field (sold at the Berry sale 1837 and 1865 respectively). He lived for a time at the Jardin des Plantes (from 1828) and made numerous natural history sketches and oil paintings.

The novelty of the subject matter, its lively humour (notably the snack of carrots being given to the elephant), the precision of the drawing and the pristine clarity of the lighting give this painting a unique position in the art of France at this period. It is certainly the artist's masterpiece.

The National Natural History Museum is one of the oldest scientific institutions in France.

It was established in 1635 by Louis XIII as a Physick Garden, specialising in the growing of medicinal plants, and it was physicians who occupied the official posts there. The emphasis of the institution changed during the 18th century, as its interests widened into that of a general Natural History Museum appropriate for the Age of Enlightenment. In 1718, the post of Garden Superintendent was established separate from the medical aspect of its work. Its international reputation was assured following the

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appointment of the great Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788) as its Keeper from 1739, whence it progressed at the cuttingedge of scientific research throughout the 18th century.

Buffon is best remembered for his great work Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière (1749–1778: in 36 volumes: 8 additional volumes published after his death by Lacépède).

It included everything known about the natural world up until that date. He noted that despite similar environments, different regions have distinct plants and animals, a concept later known as Buffon's Law, widely considered the first principle of Biogeography. He made the radical conclusion that species must have both "improved" and "degenerated" (evolved) after dispersing away from a centre of creation. He also asserted that climate change must have facilitated the worldwide spread of species from their centre of origin.

After the Revolution, the direction of the Jardin changed radically. Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton (1716-1800) was named as its Director by a Revolutionary Committee, and charged with a duty to instruct the general public, to make a collection of natural history objects and to take part in scientific research. In 1793 it was granted independent judicial status, under the prompting of Joseph Lakanal (1762-1845), the educator who reformed the French educational system during the Revolution.

Lakanal brought to the gardens the large natural history collections of the Prince de Condé. The menagery was established by Bernadin de Saint-Pierre in 1795, largely initially with animals brought in from the old Royal Menagery at Versailles, and developed extensively by imports from abroad during the following

years. During the later 19th century the accent moved further towards experimental science. By a government decree of 1891, the emphasis of the institution was once more focused on natural history.

The Elephant Rotunda, which comprises the backdrop of the present painting, is the oldest building of the Menagery in the Jardin des Plantes. It was built between 1804 and 1812 by the architect Jacques Molinos (17431841) architect of the Natural History Museum from 1794, Inspector of Buildings for the Département of the Seine and subsequently official architect to the City of Paris. Instructed

by Bernadin de Saint-Pierre, he built an innovative collection of buildings on the site of the Museum which varied from “primitive” huts to neo-classical pavillions which proved to be very popular with all walks of Parisian life.

The Rotunda was built with the intention of housing and displaying the larger wild animals in the collection, of which the popular favourite was the elephant, but which also included rhinoceros, buffalo, hippopotamus etc.. Perhaps the best-known occupant was the famous giraffe of King Charles X, whose exotic appearance attracted throngs of visitors.

Later in the 19th century a more spacious Zoological Park was established in Paris, and the Rotunda fell into a long and slow decline, the animals having been removed. In 1986, however, its importance as a national monument was recognised at last, and a full programme of conservation to its original appearance was undertaken.

The visit documented in our painting was by the Duke and Duchess de Berry. Charles Ferdinand (1778-1820) was born at Versailles, the son of King Charles X. At the French Revolution he left France with his father, then the Comte

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D'Artois, and served in the army of Conde from 1792 until 1797. He afterwards joined the Russian army, and in 1801 took up his residence in England where he remained for thirteen years. During that time he married an Englishwoman, Amy Brown, by whom he had two (recognized) daughters. The marriage was annulled for political reasons in 1814 when the duke set out for France.

His frank, open manners gained him some favour with his countrymen, and Louis XVIII named him commander-inchief of the army at Paris on the return of Napoleon from Elba. He was, however, unable to retain the loyalty of his troops, and retired to Ghent during the Hundred Days. In 1816 he married the princess Marie-Caroline Ferdinande Louise (1798-1870), oldest daughter of Francis I of the Two Sicilies. He was stabbed to death in 1820 by a disgruntled saddler named Louis Pierre Louvel.

Marie-Caroline de Berry was a veritable Maecenas of the arts, supporting numerous writers and artists and acting as patron of the Théâtre de Gymnase to the extent that its was popularly known as the Théâtre de Madame. She was a leader in public taste, supporting the development of the Neoclassical style in decoration, furniture and art. Both she and her husband were enthusiastic collectors of paintings, and each assembled important groups of pictures by both old masters and contemporary artists.

They both acquired numerous paintings at the annual Paris Salon.

After the death of her husband, the Duchess went to live in the Tuilerie. She inherited 116 modern French pictures from her husband, and these were displayed in the Marsan pavillion: they were published in 1822 by the Chevalier Féreol de Bonnemaison. She added frequently to her collection after the Duke's demise.

After Marie-Caroline was exiled with the Royal family to England in 1830, she gave full rein to her penchant for plotting and politics, aiming to bring down the usurper LouisPhilippe by starting an uprising in Provence in the name of her young son, popularly called “Henri V”. Her intention was to install herself as Regent during his minority. She visited France clandestinely on several occasions, often disguised as a peasant, but was unable to generate sufficient popular support for her plots: they came to nothing, and she was betrayed and arrested. After several months in Prison in the Citadel of Blaye, she was exiled to Belgium with a new-born child to which she gave birth during her stay in prison. Her first husband being long dead, she resorted to claiming a secret marriage with the Count Ettore Lucchesi-Palli: it was widely believed that the baby daughter was not his, and that the marriage claim was bogus.

The episode brought an end to her reputation as champion of the Legitimists, and the campaign on behalf of her son faded away. She departed in exile to Austria, where she died in 1870.

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A RARE GLOBE CLOCK A rare mid-19th century gothic brass novelty automaton time piece which drives a Newton celestial and terrestrial globe.

The clock is signed Lucas both on the dial and on the movement. The mechanism is framed in a boldly conceived ring of gothic arches supported by a foot of interlocking circles and terminating on a stepped mahogany plinth.

England, circa 1860 Height: 271/4 in (69cm) Width: 211/4 in (54cm) Depth: 8in (20cm) O2H0383

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쑯 A SET OF EIGHT REGENCY ARMCHAIRS

A set of eight early 19th century ormolu mounted rosewood armchairs, the scrolled crest rail with an ormolu strung panel above a horizontal shaped splat centred by a pierced ormolu patera, the squab cushion and padded scroll arms upholstered in beige suede above a caned seat, on tapered sabre legs richly mounted with finely burnished ormolu scroll and classical motifs.

England, circa 1810 Back height: 34in (86cm) Seat height: 17in (43cm) Width: 231/2in (60cm) Depth: 231/4 in (59cm) F2I0128

PROVENANCE

Possibly commissioned by Henry Charles Sturt (1795-1866) of Crichel House, Dorset, by descent to his great grand-son; Napier, 2nd Lord Arlington, Crichel House, Wimborne, Dorset.

Illustrated in Christopher Hussey, English Country Houses, Mid Georgian 1760-1800, Antique Collectors’ Club, 1963, p. 159, plate 317.

A set of dining chairs of identical form are still at Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire, and were presumably supplied to Thomas Anson when the house was enlarged at the beginning of the 19th century, when he was created 1st Earl of Lichfield.

This form of armchair is one of the archetypes of the English Regency, however, in many respects these chairs are exceptional. They are of an unusually large-scale, are all armchairs and are constructed from rosewood. This makes them both robust and very comfortable. In addition the rosewood is lavishly figured which in combination with the extensive ornamental gilt bronze mounts mark out this set as a very luxurious commission.

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A SET OF FOUR CANNON CANDLESTICKS

AN AMBOYNA EXTENDING DINING TABLE

collars and terminate in over-scale brass castors.

England, circa 1820

A set of four late 18th century candlesticks, modelled in the form of cannon, supported on a platform of stacked cannon balls.

England, circa 1800

An exceptional William IV, amboyna, circular extending dining table having an inlaid large-scale star at the centre and a border with ebony.

The frieze is interspersed with extending leaf supports in ebony having brass handles with star backs. Six additional leaves can be bolted to the outer edge of the table and locked in position. The outer leaves are also finished with an ebony outer rim. The table stands on four boldly modelled turned legs with ebonised

Height: 281/2in (72cm) Diameter closed: 54in (137cm) Diameter open: 72in (183cm)

Height: 12in (30.5cm) Width: 3in (7.5cm) Depth: 3in (7.5cm) O2I0021

F2C0287 Amboyna 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 trunk wood from this tree was not commercially popular and so the more valuable burls are simply termed amboyna wood.

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A PAIR OF BLACK MARBLE ZODIAC VASES A pair of early 19th century campagna form Ashford black marble vases having etched decoration of signs of the Zodiac.

England, circa 1820 Height: 121/4 in (31cm) Width of base: 4in (10cm) Depth of base: 4in (10cm) O2H0070

Ashford marble is in fact a type of limestone rather than a marble, which when polished, turns a deep glossy black.

It is produced from only

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A SET OF NEEDLEWORK PANELS two quarries near Ashfordin-the-Water, Derbyshire.

The material proved popular as a building material and, as early as 1580, Bess of Hardwick commissioned a chimney piece for Chatsworth.

In the 18th century it was a popular material for ornaments being developed by Henry Watson of Bakewell, but it was not until the 19th century that it really became fashionable as a material for both ornaments and furniture, promoted by William Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire who encouraged this new development after admiring Florentine work in Italy.

An extremely rare set of four early 17th century needlework panels with a design of large flowers linked by leaf tendrils, suspended on ribbons against a dark green background.

England, circa 1630 Framed: Height: 723/4in (185cm) Width: 263/4in (68cm) P1J0469

These rare hangings, now preserved in frames were hung as wall panels, probably on wood panelling. The designs are related to contemporary carpets, though the illusion of hanging swags is original and maybe compared with carved wood swags of flowers and fruit as perfected later in the century by Grindling Gibbons and his contemporaries. The colours of the wool embroidery with silk highlights are well preserved.

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A PAIR OF RÉGENCE APPLIQUÉS A pair of gilt bronze two branch wall appliqués applied with acanthus leaf and gadrooned ornament, each with a pierced serpentine and acanthus leaf shaped back plate with two foliate, scrolled and spiralling asymmetrical candle arms, the upper sconce having a neoclassical drip pan with foliate ornament, the lower with more rococo ornament and a sunflower drip pan.

France, circa 1730 Height: 191/4 in (49cm) Width: 111/2in (29cm) Depth: 8in (20cm) F2D0042 An identical pair of bronze ormolu wall lights are in the collections du Mobilier national in Paris, (illust. Encyclopédie du luminaire, Tome V, XVIIIeme siècle, Paris, 1934, pl. 182, fig. 4).

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A MARQUETRY COMMODE An unusual late 18th century North Italian marquetry commode. It has foliate arabesques on each face flanking larger-scale foliate vignettes. The frieze has two drawers which are inlaid with a neo-classical border of foliate swags interspaced by closed and open flowers. Below there is a lockable panel which is in itself decorated with a triptych of delicately drawn foliate marquetry. The sides echo the marquetry of the front. The commode retains its original marble top.

North Italy, circa 1790 Height: 351/2in (90.5cm) Width: 491/2in (126cm) Depth: 221/2in (57cm) F2H0363

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This finely wrought marquetry commode relates in its form and its marquetry to the work of Milanese marqueteer Giuseppe Maggiolini (17381814). In particular we see the employment of the device where a classical vase issues forth delicately drawn floral ornament, and in the use of arabesques in the border.

Guiseppe Maggiolini began working as a carpenter for a monastery and then established his own workshop in 1758.

He later was employed by Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and set up a second workshop in Milan where he worked for the court. Maggiolini’s other royal clients included the King of Poland, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, and Napoleon’s widow, Empress Maria Luisa. The popularity of his furniture led to his style being widely copied.

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A ROCOCO OVAL MIRROR An outstanding mid-18th century George III period oval mirror attributed to Thomas Johnson. The oval frame surmounted by two sheep flanked by columns, scrolling foliage and an elaborate cresting; the sides with boldly carved and pierced ‘C’ scrolls, each with pendant flowers and foliage, and a superbly carved and pierced apron decorated with icicles.

England, circa 1765 Height: 601/2in (154cm) Width: 35in (89cm) F2I0010

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A PAIR OF PIEDMONTESE WALL APPLIQUES An unusual pair of late 18th century Piedmontese two branch wall lights, with red and green painted decoration on a cream base, the back plate in the form of urn and pedestal issuing forth applied ball decoration, the pedestal decorated with two intertwining snakes, the ‘S’ scroll arms also with applied ball decoration, the socles and drip pans with gadrooned edges.

Italy, circa 1775 Height: 231/4 in (59cm) Width: 15in (38cm) O2H0334

A PAIR OF FAMILLE ROSE CHARGERS A very fine pair of early 18th century Chinese porcelain rose imari chargers, each richly decorated with a cockerel perched on a rock in a blossoming garden, the rims with panels of chrysanthemum, prunus blossom and scrolls enclosed on a stylised chrysanthemum ground, the underside with a floral garland.

China, Yongzheng period (172335), circa 1725 Diameter: 143/4in (37.5cm) O2I0075 These plates are of the earliest type of famille rose that was made for the European market.

They are a combination of the imari and famille rose palette, first introduced around 1720.

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A PAIR OF ANGLOINDIAN TORCHÈRES

A PAIR OF BRONZE EWERS

A rare pair of late 18th century Anglo-Indian ebony torchères.

The central column is of attenuated baluster form and is carved with a fine low relief laurel leaf motif at the capital and at the base. The circular tray tops are carved with a fine bead and lozenge motif. The whole is supported by a tripod base terminating in a pad base to the foot.

India, circa 1770

An unusual pair of Empire bronze and ormolu ewers.

Each one has finely chased ormolu mounts, a laurel leaf around the collar, a fine leaf motif on the bodies and an oak leaf around the base.

The handles take the unusual form of a scrolling fluted column with a putto issuing from the capital.

France, circa 1810

Height: 393/4in (101 cm) Width of base: 21in (54 cm) Diameter of top: 101/4 in (26 cm)

Height: 161/4 in (41cm) Width of base: 31/2in (9cm) Depth of base: 31/2in (9cm) O2A0280

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쑯 A PAIR OF LOUIS XVI

CONSOLES A pair of small-scale Louis XVI demi-lune giltwood consoles.

The frieze is boldly carved with flutes inset with foliate decoration and spaced by foliate paterae above the legs.

The consoles stand on turned tapering legs with carved acanthus leaf above fluted reeding. The base is joined by a stretcher carved with laurel leaves and a neo-classical vase hung with swags at the centre.

The tables retain their original white marble tops.

France, circa 1760 Height: 311/4 in (79cm) Width: 27in (68.5cm) Depth: 13in (33cm) F2H0537

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LANTO SYNGE

MICHAEL SMYTH-OSBOURNE

GILES HUTCHINSON SMITH

THOMAS WOODHAM-SMITH

JAMES HARVEY

RICHARD CAVE

FELICITY JARRETT

NICHOLAS WELLS

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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.

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

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

Cert no. SGS-COC-0620

This catalogue is printed on FSC accredited material using vegetable oil based inks.

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A PAIR OF GEORGE III MAHOGANY TRIPOD TABLES A pair of late 18th century octagonal mahogany tripod tables, attributed to Gillows, the tops having fine colour and figuring, each raised on a slightly tapered, reeded column on splayed supports inlaid with ebony and boxwood stringing and terminating in turned roundels and brass cup castors.

England, circa 1790

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A PAIR OF RUSSIAN JASPER VASES A pair of very fine Russian jasper vases. The turned column standing on a square base is in straight grained jasper, while the upper vase is finely turned and polished in a richly figured contrasting Iamsk jasper and stands on an ormolu plinth.

Russia, circa 1810 Height: 91/2in (24cm) Width: 31/2in (9cm) O2B0401

Height: 29in (74cm) Width: 26in (66cm) Depth: 18in (46cm) F2G0159

Jasper is a granular chalcedony.

The original name comes from the Greek for “spotted stone”.

The finest red jasper is found in the Ural mountains in central Russia, which was originally an archipelago of islands. The volcanic ash was mixed in different proportions with silt from the sea and thus formed a sediment. This friable sediment was compressed, hundreds of millions of years ago, thus turning into a multicoloured stone, which when polished, as in these urns, forms rich and complex patterns.

Here this brown red jasper, which is figured with grey green lines, comes from the Uchalinsk region. The rich figuring was always highly valued by Russian craftsmen and a number of columns and vases are exhibited in the Hermitage Museum.

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A PAIR OF HEXAGONAL SILVER CANDLESTICKS

A LATE 19TH CENTURY GILTWOOD CASKET

An elegant pair of hexagonal silver candlesticks made by Thomas Seabrook (previously apprenticed to Thomas Merry viz. 'London Goldsmiths 16971837' by Arthur Grimwade) and fully hallmarked at the Goldsmiths' Hall on the higher Britannia Standard in 1716/17.

England, circa 1716

A late 19th century giltwood casket having a removable domed lid and sides decorated with swags in low relief.

England, circa 1900 Height: 53/4in (14.5cm) Width: 101/2in (27cm) Depth: 5in (12.5cm) O2H0389

Height: 51/2in (14cm) Width: 33/4in (9.5cm) O2I0085

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쑯 A PAIR OF DUTCH DEMI-

LUNE SIDE TABLES A pair of Dutch late 18th century neo-classical demi-lune satinwood side tables. Each has a top and frieze inlaid with an ebonised border, inset with a marquetry satinwood scroll; the frieze is further enriched with a drawer at the centre, inlaid with a marquetry conch shell. The tables stand on square tapering legs terminating in brass pad feet.

Holland, circa 1790 Height: 283/4in (73cm) Width: 321/4 in (82cm) Depth: 16in (41cm) F2H0346

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A GEORGE III DISPLAY CASE

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쑯 A FINE PAIR OF REGENCY

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LIBRARY CHAIRS

A magnificent large-scale George III mahogany display case. The upper section is unusually glazed at the sides as well as in the doors and is enriched with diamond pattern astragals. The lower section has two doors with an octagonal border of a gothic blind fret.

The broken pediment is a replacement.

England, circa 1780

A fine and rare pair of largescale Regency mahogany library armchairs attributed to Gillows, with curved backs, turned front legs and arm supports. The seat backs and inside arms are caned; the chairs standing on brass castors and are upholstered with arm pads, seat and back cushions in pale olive green suede.

England, circa 1805

Height: 107in (272 cm) Width: 56in (142 cm) Depth: 15in (38 cm)

Height: 38in (96.5cm) Width: 26in (66cm) Depth: 311/2in (80cm)

PROVENANCE

PROVENANCE

Whitbread brewery

Sundrum Castle, Ayrshire

F2H0403

F2H0293

The Gillows family firm was established in Lancaster as early as the 1730’s. Throughout the 18th century, a succession of Robert and Richard Gillow worked for and controlled the firm. Their success really began in 1769, when they opened their first London office. Notable commissions came and, in 1800, Richard Gillow took out a patent for an extending dining table which further enhanced the firm’s reputation. The history of Gillows is exceptionally complete, as nearly all the order books and salesman’s archives still exist. We know that the practice of stamping GILLOWS. LANCASTER started in around 1780 and continued until 1817, when the main centre of production moved to London.

Today, it is difficult to comprehend the range of Gillows business at this time.

They traded not only in finished furniture, but also in timber from the West Indies along with sugar and spirits from the same region. They undertook architectural joinery and fitted out entire buildings, providing wall papers, fixtures and fittings.

Their salesmen toured the country with books of illustrations lavishly coloured to tempt buyers. Gillows even pioneered ‘flat-packing’ in order to offer their clients a reduced price. Gillows also made great profit out of the newly affluent middle class, who wanted solid furniture at low prices. There was no corner of the furniture trade they did not thoroughly exploit.

Sundrum Castle is amongst the oldest inhabited castles of

Scotland, dating back to the war of Scottish Independence when it was declared forfeit to the crown. Sir Robert Wallace, a relative of Sir William Wallace, the Scottish freedom fighter, was appointed Sherriff of Ayr in 1342, succeeded by his son Duncan in 1359 who commissioned the building of the present castle in the 1360's.

With the consent of King Robert II, possession of the castle devolved to Sir Alan de Cathcart, before 1384, the consequence of Sir Duncan dying without an heir. Sir Alan's father, a supporter of Robert the Bruce, is recorded as having been present at the battle of Loudon Hill. In Barbour's history of the Bruce, a copy of which is in the castle library, as being "amongst a party of 50 knights led by Sir Edward Bruce who surprised and defeated a far superior number of English knights in Galloway ".

The same Sir Alan famously accompanied Sir James Douglas on the ill-fated quest to take the heart of Robert the Bruce on crusade to the Holy Land.

Surviving a bloody battle against the Moors in Andalusia, he and Sir William de Keith retrieved the heart in its casket from the battlefield and brought it back to Scotland to be buried in Melrose Abbey.

The arms of Cathcart have made reference to this event ever since. In 1996 the lead casket was rediscovered at Melrose and re-interred.

A copy of an account to James Hamilton from Robert Gillow, Lancaster, dated July 1802 survives in the Sundrum archives.

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A VICTORIAN LETTER BOX A most unusual three sided 19th century oak letter box with a flat back allowing it to be hung or stood against a wall, the top finely carved and the front with its original plate with black and red engraving.

England, circa 1850 Height: 261/2in (67.5cm) Width: 15in (38cm) Depth: 61/4 in (16cm) O2H0512

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STILL LIFE OF FLOWERS IN A BRONZE VASE Oil on canvas, circa 1690 Unframed: 341/2 x 27 in (87.7 x 68.6cm) Framed: 42 x 35 in (107 x 88.9cm) In its fine carved oak and gilded Louis XIV frame PROVENANCE

From a private collection in Switzerland.

P1I0823

쑯 A VIEW OF THE PARC

D'ERMENONVILLE WITH A GENTLEMAN OUT SHOOTING WITH HIS SERVANT AND DOGS, WITH LADIES LOOKING ON Signed and dated lower left, 'A Dunouy 1806' Oil on canvas Unframed: 351/4 x 511/4 in (89.5 x 130cm) Framed: 431/2 x 591/2 in (110.5 x 151.1cm) P2H0224

Alexandre Hyacinthe Dunouy (1757-1841) was a French Neoclassical landscape painter of the same generation as Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes (1750-1819), Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld (1758-1846) and JeanVictor Bertin (1767-1842). Little is known about Dunouy’s early career, but he is presumed to have studied in the studio of the history painter Gabriel Bliard (1725-1777). Dunouy exhibited

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Jean Baptiste Monnoyer (16341699) was born at Lille in Northern France on 19th July 1634. He trained at first as a History painter, but soon turned his attention to still-life painting, eventually developing into one of the great masters of the Baroque Flower Piece.

He was made an Academician of the French Academy in 1663 at the age of 29. Later, he was employed by Lebrun for the decoration of the Royal Palace at Versailles, and he collaborated on canvases of many of the great aristocratic châteaux which were being constructed or modernised throughout France at the time. He was also

appointed "Peintre de Fleurs" at the Royal Gobelins tapestry manufactory, and enjoyed a royal patronage. He exhibited only once at the Salon, in 1673, at which he showed four canvasses.

Monnoyer's reputation was soon international, and his work was brought to the attention of the Duke of Montagu, then British Ambassador to the French Court. Through his intercession, Monnoyer was enticed to England at the prospect of numerous commissions both from the Duke and from Queen Mary and Princess (later Queen) Anne. The last decade of his life was spent

principally in London, and many of his paintings remain in British collections. He was without question the greatest still-life painter working in 17th century England.

The present painting (of which the early history is presently unknown) would seem stylistically to date from the last decade or so of his career, and may well have been painted in England. The freshness of the palette and the crispness of the handling of the paint, point to a dating around 1690, when the artist was at the height of his powers.

landscapes at the Salon de la Jeunesse in 1781 and six years later, the View of San Cosima, at the Salon de l’Elysée, suggesting he travelled to Italy at some point during the 1780’s. A large canvas, View of Italy, marked his début at the Salon of 1791, where he continued to exhibit regularly until 1833, receiving medals in 1819 and 1827.

He exhibited views of Rome and Naples throughout the 1790’s, possibly returning to France by 1798. In that year, his submissions to the Salon included views of Mont Blanc and the Rhone near Lyon. In the 1801 Salon, Army descending the Alps was much admired by Napoleon Bonaparte. Dunouy served as court painter to Joachim Murat, the King of Naples and the Two Sicilies in 1809, a position he held until 1815. After his return to France in 1815, he continued to exhibit picturesque views of France and Italy at the Salon, adding scenes of the Auvergne, the Savoie, and the Ile-de-France. In the later years, he published

portfolios of etchings based on his drawings and paintings.

Le Parc d'Ermenonville, 40 kilometres north of Paris, was created from 1766 by the Marquis René de Girardin, the younger son of René Hatté the much-loathed Fermier-Général (tax collector) of the Ancien régime. He decided to use the wilderness which surrounded the Château of d'Ermenonville to create a garden entirely to his own taste and design. Here the gardener did not attempt to dominate the landscape but to work with it, leaving “wild” spaces and natural vistas to charm the visitor with its “naturalness”. In this respect it was the pioneer of a movement which swept Europe in succeeding decades, and which inspired artists, poets and writers to praise its “enlightenment”.

In 1778 the moral philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau visited the Château and Gardens, where he passed six weeks in a serene and happy environment. Rousseau died at

d'Ermenonville on 2nd July 1778, and he was buried by de Girardin on the Island in the middle of the lake among a grove of poplars, seen in the background of the present painting.

In 1793, de Girardin, despite his liberal and revolutionary views, was arrested during The Terror and locked up in his house. After the fall of Robespierre, he was set free.

The mortal remains of Rousseau were subsequently transferred to the Pantheon, and de Girardin left d'Ermenonville for ever.

Seven years later, in 1800, the future Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte visited the Château and the Park, where he enjoyed a rabbit-shoot accompanied by Stanislas de Girardin, eldest son of René. It is perhaps this scene which is recalled in the present painting.

A small sketch for the current painting (canvas 32 x 41cm) is presently on the London art-market; it differs little from the above work except in having no figures.

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TWO CHINOISERIE TERRACOTTA VASES AS LAMPS Two mid-18th century Italian chinoiserie terracotta vases.

Each is decorated with a gilt lattice inset with vignettes showing domestic scenes, the top having a polychrome foliate border.

Northern Italy, circa 1760

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A PAIR OF END TABLES A pair of late 19th century Renaissance revival two-tiered end tables, each having a finely rendered parquetry top and a quartered lower tier, the turned legs are enriched with foliate ornament and colours and are joined at the top by a shallow arch and at the bottom by an ‘H’ stretcher.

England, circa 1875

Height: 21in (53cm) Base width: 71/2in (19cm) Height: 19in (49cm) Base width: 7in (17cm)

Height: 271/4 in (69cm) Width: 17in (43cm) Depth: 17in (43cm)

O2H0182

F2H0469

Mellier & Co. of 60 Margaret Street, London, took over the celebrated Paris based firm of Monbro, who had premises in London between 1861 and 1870.

The stamp of the Mellier firm is reproduced in Christopher Payne, 19th Century European Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club, 1981, p. 317.

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A PAIR OF BRONZE DANCING FIGURES A very rare pair of French late 17th century table bronzes depicting musicians and dancers in the Antique manner. One wears a feathered headdress and is playing castanets. The other is playing the tambourine. Both figures are positioned contraposto and retain a majority of their original lacquer. Mounted on late 18th century blocks of rouge griotte marble.

The bronzes France, circa 1700 Height: 93/4in (25cm) Width: 4in (10cm) O2F0428

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FULL LENGTH PORTRAIT OF FRANCES EARLE Attributed to Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger (fl. 1561- d.1635) Full length portrait of Frances Earle (neé Fountaine), with her eldest daughter and eldest son John Earle on a portico; their dog sleeps beneath the chair.

Oil on canvas Unframed: 65 x 59in (165.1 x 150cm) Framed: 721/2 x 66in (184.4 x 167.6cm) In a fine carved and silvered frame

Marcus Gheeraerts was the son of a like-named painter and was born 1561-2 in Bruges.

The family was embroiled in the wars of religion and emigrated to England in 1568 where he remained for the duration of his life, dying in London 19th January 1635 (O.S.). His career as a successful portrait painter stems from his patronage by Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley, for and of whom he painted numerous portraits, most notably the great full-length of Queen Elizabeth standing on a map of England, her feet placed securely on Oxfordshire, Lee’s home county.

He was related by family and by marriage to many of the known artists in England of the period, including Isaac Oliver, John de Critz et al. Gheeraerts enjoyed court paronage in the following reign of James I, though his career appears gradually to have been eclipsed by the new and more fashionable portrait painters arriving from the

PROVENANCE Erasmus Earle (1590-1667) of Salle and Heydon Hall, who married the sitter, his cousin Frances Fountaine (1592-1675); their eldest son, John, c.16241697, portrayed on the right of the picture; Augustine Earle of Heydon Hall; Erasmus Earle (d.1768) who d.s.p. leaving his estates to his sister Mary, eldest daughter of Augustine Earle of Heydon Hall and her husband William Wiggett (marriage at Guestwick 1756; died 1798) who took the surname of Bulwer by Act of Parliament in the year of his marriage, as grandson and heir of William Bulwer of Woodalling, Norfolk; Brigadier-General

William Earle Bulwer, their son, 1757-1807; William Earle Lytton Bulwer of Heydon Hall, 2nd son of the above (1799-1874); William Earle Gascoigne LyttonBulwer of Heydon Hall (18291910), his son; thence by descent until sold at the contents sale of 20th July 1949; Banningham Hall Collection, Norfolk.

Continent after about 1615.

From the (sparse) evidence of a few signed pictures, his clients in the 1620’s seem rather to have been academics, gentry of men in the professions rather than the courtly grandees which were his staple of the earlier years of his career.

In the absence of more than a tiny number of signed or documented paintings by the artist at this period, it is impossible to be dogmatic about the attribution of the present painting to Gheeraerts.

Certainly, it is the mainstream of English portrait painting exemplified by Gheeraerts, and almost entirely free of the Continental early-baroque which by this date was rapidly transmuting the face of painting in this country under the hegemony of Van Dyck.

Heydon Hall in Norfolk was built 1581-4 by Henry Dynne (d.1586) whose family had owned the manor since

the 15th century. On his demise it was sold to William Colfer, and from his family to Robert Kemp (d.1616) whose son, Sir Robert Kemp of Finchingfield, then sold it in 1650 to Erasmus Earle (1590-1637), the Cromwellian lawyer. A subsequent Erasmus Earle bequeathed it in 1768 to his sister Mary and her husband William Wiggett Bulwer, in whose family it subsequently descended until modern times.

The collection of portraits at Heydon was listed by the Rev. Edmund Farrer in 1927 after the visit by Duleep Singh in May 1909. His list is relatively thorough for portraits of the 18th and 19th century, though as he notes himself ‘there are a great many 16th and 17th century portraits still unrecorded’. However, it is clear from the documented portraits that the house still contained the 17th century portraits of the Earle family, and the identity of the sitters has been established

LITERATURE cf. ’Portraits in Norfolk Houses’ (Prince Frederick Duleep Singh and Rev.Edmund Farrer, Volume I. p.229 et seq. (nd., but c.1929) The painting may be dated based on costume to circa 1631-3.

P2G0296

by Thomas Woodcock FSA from family records at the College of Arms (there is no printed pedigree of the Earle family).

Erasmus Earle, lawyer and politician, (1590-1667) was baptised at Sall, Norfolk, the only son of Thomas Earle and his first wife, Anne, daughter of Arthur Fountaine of Sall. He was educated at the Grammar School and matriculated as a pensioner from Peterhouse College, Cambridge, in 1609.

He studied law at Furnicall’s and later Lincoln’s Inn, where he was called to the bar in 1618. On February 25th 1617 he married his 'beloved cousin' Frances Fountaine (1592-1671), daughter of James Fountaine, by whom he had two daughters and six sons.

The help of Thomas Woodcock FSA in elucidating the early provenance of the picture and the identities of the sitters is gratefully acknowledged.

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