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Lot 2813
KLASSIZISTISCHER SCHRANK, Bodensee, um 1780-1790, Nussbaum auf Weichholzgestell furniert, zweitüriger Korpus mit geschweiftem Giebel und abgeschrägten Lisenen, Türen mit vertieften Kassettierungen passig zum Giebel geschweift, Pfeilerelemente, Kassettierung und Giebel verziert mit Scheiben- bzw. Zinnenfries. HxBxT: 205/154/60 cm. Alters- und Gebrauchsspuren. CLASSIC CABINET, around 1780-1790, walnut veneered on a softwood frame, two-door body with curved gable and sloping pilaster strips, doors with recessed cofferings curving to match the gable, pillar elements, coffering and gable decorated with disc or crenellated frieze. HxWxD: 205/154/60 cm. Signs of age and wear.
Lot 58
An important pair of German late 18th century ormolu and brass mounted mahogany 'mechanical' reading/writing/card/games tables attributed to David Roentgen (1743-1807)Circa 1785, each with a triple foldover top, the first hinged top enclosing an inset baize playing surface, the second inlaid with a chess and draughts board, the third surface on one table inset with a baize surface incorporating a hinged rest and a lever-activated opposing 'pop-up' hinged box, enclosing an ebony and stained fruitwood inlaid backgammon playing surface encompassed by ivory playing discs, flanked by two compartments with line-inlaid tambour sliding lids, the other table inset with a gilt-tooled leather surface incorporating a hinged writing rest and a lever-activated opposing 'pop-up' hinged box, enclosing a void interior, each with panel mounted friezes and flute mounted angles, with a catch-activated release for the rear gateleg and a secret drawer, on four detachable screw-in square tapering legs each with two mille raie outer facings headed by collar mouldings, terminating in moulded block and peg feet, each: 99cm wide x 48.5cm deep x 81cm high, (38 1/2in wide x 19in deep x 31 1/2in high) (2)Footnotes:ProvenanceFormerly with Didier Aaron, Paris.Purchased: Koller Auctions, Zurich, 26th March 2015, Furniture, Porcelain and Decoration, lot 1184.Auction ComparablesA single games table of this same type sold Sotheby's, Zurich, 7th December 1994, lot 257. Another similar Roentgen table, albeit a very slightly earlier model dating to circa 1780, sold Christie's, London, 7th July 2008, Important European Furniture, lot 535.Forerunners and Further ComparablesTwo precursors to the offered lot, in terms of form, Neoclassical design and multifunctionality, feature in W. Koeppe, Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens, 2012, New York, fig.'s 24 & 27, pp.'s 108-9 & 116-119, which was published to accompany the important and hugely successful exhibition of the same title held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York in 2012. The first table is dated circa 1774-1780 and the second 1774-1775, and as a result of their earlier dates of production both of these incorporate marquetry which is totally absent on the offered pair.However the closest comparables to the present tables include one, dated 1780-1783, also illustrated and analysed in W. Koeppe, Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens, fig. 45, pp.'s 163-5. And another, circa 1785, that is housed at the Palace of Pavlovsk in St. Petersburg features in both Greber, J.M. Abraham und David Roentgen, Mobel fur Europa, 1980, Starnberg, Bd. 1, S. 235, Bd. 2, S. 320, 321 and in D. Fabian, Abraham und David Roentgen, Das noch aufgefundene Gesamtwerk ihrer Mobel- und Uhrenkunst in Verbindung mit der Uhrmacherfamilie Kinzing in Neuwied, 1996, Bad Neustadt/Saale, fig. 103, p. 62. The New Restrained Roentgen StyleThese 'tables a jeu a quatre variations', examples of which are very rare to come across in pairs, display all of the features typically found on those pieces emanating from the workshop of Neuwied-based David Roentgen during the 1780s. By that time Roentgen's output had become increasingly restrained, incorporating the linear forms and antique elements of the new Neoclassicism. Instead of marquetry which had gradually fallen out of fashion, Roentgen took to simple but costly mahogany veneers with sparingly elegant use of gilt bronze ornamentation, thus completing the process of artistic emancipation from his father, Abraham Roentgen (1711-93). And yet arguably the most notable feature of David's works were now their complex mechanisms, in this case the rising box for 'tric-trac', the lateral compartments with tambour covers, the detachable screw-in legs, and the skilfully concealed, or essentially 'secret', drawer.The Development of Roentgen's Mechanical Furniture The earliest mechanical tables of Neoclassical design by David Roentgen were supplied in 1771 for the country house at Worlitz on behalf of Prince Leopold III Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau, where they are still located, D. Fabian, Abraham und David Roentgen, 1996, No.'s 47a-b. Roentgen provided a further pair to his main client of the mid-1770s, Prince Charles of Lorraine, Governor of the Austrian Netherlands, but these are now housed at the Museum fur Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, D. Fabian, Op. Cit, No.'s 67 & 68. Both sets employ abundant colourful marquetry but by the 1780s Roentgen had rejected this aesthetic in favour of plain mahogany with delicate mounts and this proved to be preferred by the princely patrons throughout that decade, as evidenced by the Pavlovsk model which was delivered along with many other items to the Russian court from circa 1783 onwards, Op. Cit, No. 103. For his most mechanically complicated pieces, Roentgen worked closely with Peter Kinzing, a highly gifted clockmaker likewise from Neuwied, and after they had supplied Marie Antoinette with an automaton in 1785, the position of Ebeniste Mecanicien du Roi et de la Reine was even conferred upon Roentgen. This was a rare and distinguished Royal appointment which one of the most famous cabinet makers of the 18th century, Jean-Francois Oeben (1721-1763), had previously been honoured with in 1760, during the reign of Louis XV.Famous Admirers of RoentgenInterestingly, it was this mechanical element of Roentgen's output that was held in the highest esteem by his peers and various notable contemporary figures. Roentgen was even revered by the literary, cultural and scientific polymath and major German Romantic, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) who epitomised the zeitgeist. Goethe, author of the seminal Faust, Parts I and II probably encountered a games table similar to the offered examples while working at Weimar Palace as Privy Councillor to Duke Karl August von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach. This is believed to be the case due to an 1810 inventory of the assembly room at the Weimar Palace which documents a: 'game table veneered with mahogany, and decorated with brass mouldings. With a hidden 'Tocadille' [backgammon board]', 3 feet 4 inches long, 1 foot 8 inches deep. By Rontchen.', W. Koppe, Idem, p. 164.Analysis of the Offered LotAt first appearance the present tables are misleadingly simple in form and decoration, but it is clear that Roentgen's choice of superb mahogany veneers is perfectly matched and beautifully highlighted by his restrained, yet visually striking, use of both gilt bronze and brass mounts. The natural grain of the mahogany is effectively manipulated so that it runs horizontally along the length of the leaves whereas the flame figuring is vertical on each frieze. The mounts are brilliantly incorporated into the overall scheme to create a visually thrilling sense of depth. In particular, the projecting mouldings are brought out with bronze applications, the mille raie fields on the front and outer side facings of the legs are gilded, and the classical fluting to the angle blocks are lined with brass.In relation to the mounts, evidently Roentgen was influenced by the practice of contemporary Parisian ebenistes, who ordered their mounts directly from specialists working solely within that field. By 1779 Roentgen was employing the same process and in fact many of his mounts from that date onwards were supplied by the renowned maitre-doreur, Francois Remond (1747-1812) who was also based in Paris, C. Baulez, David Roentgen et Francois Remond, Une Collaboration Majeure dans l'Histoire du Mobi... This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: Y ФY Subject to CITES regulations when exporting items outside of the EU, see clause 13.Ф This lot contains or is made of ivory. The United States Government has banned the import of ivory into the USA.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 65
An Italian early 19th century 'Grand Tour' specimen marble and hardstone table top on a George IV mahogany and parcel gilt console tablethe specimen marble top circa 1810, the console table circa 1825The rectangular marble top inset with a grid of one hundred and thirty six squares each inlaid with a different marble or hardstone including malachite, breche violet, alabastro, porphyry, lapis lazuli, Sicilian jasper, Spanish brocatello, onyx, portor and verde antico, on two acanthus clasped and C-scroll carved lion bust-headed front monopodia terminating in paw feet, with panelled rear stiles, on a concave plinth base, 134cm wide x 67cm deep x 90cm high, (52 1/2in wide x 26in deep x 35in high)Footnotes:A comparable specimen marble and pietra dura table top to the offered lot, which was dated late 18th/early 19th century, sold Christie's, New York, 17th October 2003, Important English Furniture, lot 21.This type of specimen marble table top is characteristic of the taste for Italian slabs, often collected by British gentlemen whilst undertaking their 'Grand Tour' of Europe. In the eighteenth century, Palladian architects were influenced by the Italian fashion for marble topped pier tables. Many of these items were ordered by English collectors and returned to their homeland where they had the bases made for these highly prized tops.One of these patrons of the Italian workshops was the connoisseur Patrick Home (d.1808) of Wedderburn Castle and Paxton House, Scotland, who appears to have purchased a quantity of high quality tops in around 1771 in the first year of his Grand Tour. A similar marble table top, inset on a stand made by the Edinburgh cabinet-maker William Trotter, is illustrated in F. Bamford, A Dictionary of Edinburgh Furniture Makers, 1660-1840, Furniture History Society, 1983, pl. 55A. A further related example is believed to have been acquired by Edward, Viscount Lascelles (d.1814) for Harewood House, Yorkshire and subsequently sold, The Humphrey Whitbread Collection, Christie's London, 5 April 2001, lot 412.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TPTP Lot will be moved to an offsite storage location (Cadogan Tate, Auction House Services, 241 Acton Lane, London NW10 7NP, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 14 calendar days from the auction date.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 66
A 'half set' of six late 18th century Italian patinated and parcel gilt bronze busts of Roman Emperorsprobably Roman and by Francesco Righetti (1749-1819) each clad in drapery on circular-waisted soccles below integral cartouche plaques, inscribed: AVGVSTVS, CALLICVIA, GALBA, OTHO, VESPASIANVS and TITO ,the smallest 29cm high, the largest 31cm high. (6)Footnotes:ProvenanceProperty of an important Spanish noble family, El Retiro, Churriana, Málaga, SpainRelated LiteratureDESCRIPCION DE LA CASA DE CAMPO DEL RETIRO DEL CONDE DE VILLALCAZAR. MALAGA, 1814, pp. 8-9 The entry in the 'Gallery of the Emperors' stating 'Among the works of sculpture, there is a bust of Vitellius in bronze of great merit, and six more heads, which are Augustus, Caligula, Galba, Otho, Vespasian and Titus.', the later six heads apparently being the 'half set' of busts which constitute the present lot with the first head being a larger and separate but perhaps related bust of Vitellius -now lost.Comparative LiteratureFrits Scholten [ed.], Willem van Tetrode, sculptor, exh. cat., Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam / Frick Collection, New York, Ansterdam / New York, 2003, p. 116, no. 6Bertrand Jestaz, Copies d'antiques au Palais Farnese: Les fontes de Guglielmo della Porta', in Melanges de l'Ecole Francaise de Rome: Italie et Mediterranee, vol. 105, 1993, 1, pp. 7-48, esp. pp. 30-41, figs. 17-28Charles Avery, Soldani's mythological bronzes and his British clientele, in Sculpture Journal, XIV, 2005, pp. 8-29The tradition of producing sets of roughly half life-size busts depicting Suetonius's series of Twelve Roman Emperors began with a dozen (27cm. high) made in bronze for oval niches on the front of an elaborate wooden studio-cabinet - with other statuettes - by Willem van Tetrode (c. 1525-1580). A Dutch immigrant - as part of his journeyman years as a sculptor / bronze-founder - he had travelled to Florence (to work with Cellini) and then on to Rome, with Guglielmo della Porta. In the latter's post-mortem inventory of 1575, a dozen emperors are listed and they are thought to have been based on a set of life-size marble busts carved by Tomasso della Porta for Alessandro Farnese. The details of their cuirasses and the fall of their togas are more carefully differentiated than those on the present series, but the bases are simpler, having only small squarish cartouches below with indications of their names, e.g. 'N' for Nero (unlike the present, elaborate, baroque, cartouches with their full names given in relief in capital letters).No other sets by Tetrode are known, but - following the trail of Tetrode's later return to his native Netherlands - a silversmith in Delft, Thomas Cruse (who died in 1624) owned a number of Tetrode's models, among them sets of piece-moulds for twelve emperors. Such an artist might well have fashioned the then 'modern' curlicues round the name-labels shown on our set and spelt out their names for 'northern humanist collectors'.The famous Florentine sculptors seem not to have indulged in series of small emperor-busts during the long post-Michelangelo period, which was otherwise dominated initially by Bandinelli and Bandini (whose sculptures and busts of the Medici closely resembled ancient ones) and by the Flemish immigrant Giambologna (1529-1608). Nor have any been attributed to his followers in bronze, the two Susinis or the two Taccas, whose work stretched far into the 17th century.One has to wait until early in the following century evidence for the further distinct production of such busts in series of a dozen, with their empresses too, this time in Florence once more: a letter of 22 November 1707 from the Grand-ducal Chamberlain to the Medici Grand-dukes, Lorenzo Magnolfi, who also acted as a high-level art-agent for grandees, furnishes the names of three pioneer patrons among the British for Soldani in the role of sculptor. It was addressed to one of them, Sir John Perceval of Burton, County Cork, later Earl of Egmont (1683-1748), who spent six months in Italy while on his Grand Tour: 'you may order Messrs Arundel and Bates to reimburse me for the said heads, and for the busts and statues you did order to Signor Massimilano Soldani which are already done and packed up; and there are twenty four heads and three statues, and I hope you will be pleased with them since they are very well done ...'. Judging from this bald description, as well as from Perceval's intention expressed elsewhere that his works of art be for 'the use of an accademy (sic) of painters which he purposed to forward the erecting in Ireland', one might infer that they were after ancient prototypes. The high, even, number of twenty-four indicates probably that a set of the usual 'Twelve Caesars', with their wives, was being supplied. Soldani did indeed produce a few accomplished life-sized, highly polished busts after the antique, but so high a number suggests that these were not life-size. Disaster befell both of Perceval's shipments. They were captured by French privateers in 1707 and 1709, the spoils presumably being fed into the art market in France, unless they were melted down to make cannon. No such busts on a reduced scale - suitable for the tops of desks, cabinets or bookshelves in British libraries - are known. Thereafter, with the advent of Neo-classicism and the ever-increasing flood of adolescent British boys - steeped in the Classics, owing to the need to help create a new British Empire, the equivalent of Rome's - the onus of producing such attractive and eye-catching sets of emperors reverted to Rome. By the 1790s, ingenious goldsmith/bronze-founders in the Eternal City were producing pseudo-antiquities in commercial quantities and distributed printed price lists of their product. One from Francesco Righetti - in the international diplomatic language of French - included, among his 'Bustes avec leur Base Doree, en tout, hauts d'un palme, cinq onces', an item, 'Les douze Cesars a 12 sequins l'un' - or 144 sequins for the set. Their height - in Roman palms and inches - was therefore the same as the present series, while their surfaces and patina were meant to imitate antiquities, such as were then being excavated in Pompeii and Herculaneum: this clinches the probability that they date from the second half of the 18th century and were made in Rome. Righetti may well have fallen back on older models from the late Renaissance or early Baroque periods, such as have been described above, in order to produce his set speedily and economically.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 72
A German late 18th century ormolu and white marble mounted mahogany, burr elm, maple, mother-of-pearl and stained sycamore 'Schreibschrank' attributed to the circle of David RoentgenCirca 1795, the superstructure comprising a pierced fretwork gallery surmounted by five urn finials above a pair of mirror-inset panel mounted doors enclosing one shelf, interspersed with three Corinthian columns, over a concealed stepped central drawer flanked by projecting block and urn finial mounted angles, the frieze drawer below with an inset hinged top, above a fall enclosing an architectural interior comprising a catch-activated cedar-lined drawer with triangular pediment mouldings, over a central arched recess with a mirrored interior and chequered lozenge-inlaid floor centred by a model tempietto, flanked by two arched recesses and interspersed with four composite columns and two conforming engaged end columns, with two pierced fretwork secret drawers below, above five catch-activated mahogany-lined drawers, the reverse of the fall inlaid with a central conch shell oval, over a ribbon-tied oak-leaf mounted waist with projecting mille raie block angles, with three long panelled drawers below, flanked by canted classical youth herm-tapering and husk pendant mounted pilaster angles, terminating in square tapering panelled feet, 112cm wide x 54cm deep x 210cm high, (44in wide x 21in deep x 82 1/2in high)Footnotes:ProvenanceFormerly from the Estate of Elizabeth Fondaras, USA.With Peter Muhlbauer, Lower Bavaria, between 2013 and 2017.Then purchased by the vendor from Christie's, London, 4 July 2017, European Furniture and Works of Art, lot 57.A comparable, albeit slightly plainer, version of the offered lot sold Christie's, Amsterdam, 24-25 June 2008, lot 751. This Berlin 'Schreibschrank', or secretaire a abbatant, attributed to Georg Ruppert is of similar design and incorporates related characteristics such as white marble or alabaster columns, the Ionic capitals appearing one level below Corinthian ones, a galleried cabinet superstructure and a fitted architectural interior. It was supplied by Ruppert to the Prussian General Carl Freidrich Henrich, Graf von Wylich und Lottum (1767-1841).Although due to the current absence of relevant documentation the cabinet maker responsible for the present secretaire is unknown, as more academic research is completed and further information made public then this will inevitably change over time. However for now it is clearly the case that whoever produced such a magnificent piece, or meisterstuck, of German craftsmanship had undoubtedly been directly influenced by the incredible output and legacy of one of the most renowned cabinet makers of all time, David Roentgen (1743-1807).This wonderful secretaire perfectly typifies the latter stages of the Neoclassical style, and in particular the gout Grec, which was indicative of the height of fashion across Europe during the period 1770-1800. The impact of David Roentgen, whose output was always distinct, elegant, supremely high quality in terms of its construction and often enclosed ingenious mechanisms, especially dominated Prussia, or what is now modern day Germany. And this impact can be seen in the works produced by the contemporaries and immediate successors of Roentgen, which very often sought to emulate the latter's example and merely introduced subtle variations to his stock designs and clearly defined models. It is also worth noting that, during the peak of its fame, the annual income of the Roentgen workshop rivalled that of the Meissen porcelain manufactory, W. Koeppe, Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens, 2012, New York, p. 3.As a result of Roentgen's successful personal and working relationship with perhaps his most important patron, Crown Prince Frederick William who later became Emperor Frederick William II, he was honoured with the title of Royal Prussian Privy Councillor. Then in 1791, by which time Roentgen had evidently already begun to draw back from accepting new commissions, he chose to give his financial backing and influential support to his foreman, David Hacker, so that the latter could set up his own workshop and in essence become Roentgen's most immediate successor. Hacker, who himself went on to supply many of the Prussian Royal palaces with furniture, appears not to be the likely maker of the present lot however Johann Georg Stein and Johannes Andreas Beo, who both trained under and worked for the former, are indeed possible candidates. Stein and Beo, who evidently inherited Hacker's predilection for the working method and aesthetics originally developed by Roentgen, each executed a practically identical model of 'Schreibschrank', which in turn closely relate to the offered example, A. Stiegel, Berliner Mobelkunst, 2003, Berlin, fig.'s 28-9, p. 95. All three of these have characteristics in common including the use of brilliant mechanisms, a la Roentgen, such as concealed drawers and compartments stored within separate central architectural units. In an inventory of the Charlottenburg Palace undertaken in 1800, the secretaire by Stein is documented as being housed in the private dressing room of Empress Louise (1776-1810), wife of Friedrich III. While the Beo version, which seems to have once enclosed an impressive clock mechanism (in direct continuance of the tradition of Roentgen) remains for now at the Getty Museum (84.DA.87).As well as helping Hacker to establish himself, it appears that Roentgen also assisted Johann Cristian Harder, another cabinet maker who had worked for the former, to also found his own firm in Brunswick in circa 1800. Harder even calls it the Braunschweigische Priviligierte Kunst-Meuble-Fabrik von Neuwied in honour of Roentgen. Constructed following the same stock design as the three aforementioned secretaires, Harder's comparable model, in the collection at the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin, is even more impressive in terms of the extremely complicated and ingenious mechanisms stored within it. And as a result this particular variant features, analysed in meticulous detail, in W. Koeppe, Extravagant Inventions, The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens, 2012, New York, app.'s 3.1-3.15, p. 234.Ultimately the difficulty in attributing the above lot to any of the previously referenced makers - Hacker, Stein, Beo or Harder - proves the immense consistency and cross fertilisation in terms of ideas, innovations and artistry among these Prussian cabinet makers during this period. However one common thread uniting all of them is clearly the enormous and understandably all-pervasive influence of David Roentgen.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TP YTP Lot will be moved to an offsite storage location (Cadogan Tate, Auction House Services, 241 Acton Lane, London NW10 7NP, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 14 calendar days from the auction date.Y Subject to CITES regulations when exporting items outside of the EU, see clause 13.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 83
A matched pair of satinwood and carved mahogany urns and pedestalsone urn and pedestal circa 1775, the other of a later date but probably 19th centuryThe lidded classical urns with pine-cone finials, one enclosing a lead liner, above ovoid bodies with guilloche borders and applied ram's heads and swagged bellflowers, with male and female portrait medallions, above stiff leaves and fluted collars, on stiff leaf carved socle bases and stepped plinths; the square pedestal tops with leaf moulded edges, each front carved with classical urns flanked by scrolling acanthus and grotesque masks, above scrolling riband tied acanthus flanked by angled pilasters, headed by leaf and pine-cone carving with trailing bellflowers, on plinth bases, one pedestal enclosing a lead lined drawer and shelf, with a concealed tap in the top, the later copy entirely in mahogany, each 56cm wide, 56cm deep, 189cm high, (22' wide, 22' deep, 74' high) (2)Footnotes:A related pair of George III carved mahogany sideboard pedestals and urns with applied carving to the pedestals and similar urns are illustrated in F. Lewis Hinckley, Hepplewhite, Sheraton and Regency Furniture, London 1990, p.229. An urn of closely related form with similar lotus-leaf banding and swagged husks and medallions forms part of a cast-iron stove for the Saloon at Castle Coole, Co. Fermanagh by Carron Iron Co., Falkirk, Scotland (the house designed by James Wyatt), see H. Montgomery Massingbird and C. Simon Sykes, Great Houses of Ireland, London, 1999, p.11. Other Stove urns of this type include one in the collection at Temple Newsam, see C. Gilbert, Furniture at Temple Newsam and Lotherton Hall, Bradford, 1978, Vol III., p.629, Fig.773 and another formerly at Compton Place, Sussex and now in the collection of the V&A (M.3-1920).Similar shaped painted urns and pedestals with applied decoration to the pedestals were designed by Robert Adam and supplied to the re-modelled dining room at Saltram circa 1780 and are illustrated in R. Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, Vol. III, 1954, London, p.139, fig.5. Designs for related urns with carved pedestals were published by George Hepplewhite in his 'The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterers Guide, third edition, 1794, pl.35&36.Sideboard pedestals and urns became fashionable in the 1760s. The pedestals themselves provide extra storage and often contained a plate warmer or cellaret drawer. The urns were normally lined to hold either iced water or water for rinsing cutlery in the dining room. Sheraton wrote in his Cabinet-Makers' and Upholsterers' Encyclopeodia (1805) that 'Pedestals with vases at each end of the sideboard, one was used as a plate warmer, while the other sometimes contained a cellaret for wine while the vases 'are used for water for the use of the butler, and sometimes made of copper japanned, but generally of mahogany'.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TPTP Lot will be moved to an offsite storage location (Cadogan Tate, Auction House Services, 241 Acton Lane, London NW10 7NP, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 14 calendar days from the auction date.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 93
A French mid-19th century ormolu, silvered metal, aventurine glass and blue coloured glass mounted ebony and ebonised breakfront meuble d'appuiprobably made for the Ottoman or Russian marketWith an onyx top and gadroon mounted edge moulding above a frieze mounted with a trailing branch issuing C- and S-scrolls, foliage and flowers, over a central panelled door mounted with flowers, berried foliage, two cockerels and scrolled acanthus centred by a Flora mask, enclosing one long shelf, flanked by two smaller panelled doors each with a central arched panel inset with scrolled foliage, floral, shell and lion mask mount hung with a ribbon-tied martial trophy pendant comprising fasces di combattimento, weapons, banners, trumpets, drums and a suit of armour, with a floral bouquet and scrolled foliate mount below, interspersed by flowerhead and entrelac chute angles, flanked by projecting canted angles each with concave panelling mounted with pendant C-scrolls, rosettes and rocaille centred by an entwined floral wreath mount, above a shell, scrolled acanthus and floral cast apron mount, on foliate capped spiral reeded toupie sabots, with tortoiseshell veneered rear pilaster angles, some losses and some composition replaced segments to the blue coloured glass, restorations, 165cm wide x 56cm deep x 99cm high, (64 1/2in wide x 22in deep x 38 1/2in high)Footnotes:ProvenanceSir Warwick and Lady Fairfax Collection, Sydney.Within the vendor's family both the offered and following cabinets, lots 94 and 95, were believed to have originally belonged to the celebrated Rothschild Collection, and were possibly even purchased as such during the mid 20th century. And an excerpt from an old valuation with this alleged provenance appears applied to the reverse of the door. However unfortunately we have not come across any records proving that the present cabinet had any connection to the Rothschilds.The collection of Sir Warwick and Lady Fairfax represents a significant chapter in Australian twentieth century history, the Fairfaxes being as they were one of the country's most prominent families. Fairwater, their 19th century harbour-side home that housed their vast art collection, became the most valuable property ever sold in Australia when it came to the market following Lady Fairfax's death in 2017. Until that time Fairwater had become a symbol of Sydney's social scene, a society destination where parties were held amongst artworks by Rodin, Chagall, Degas and Epstein. One party, for instance, was held to celebrate the opening of the Sydney Opera House in 1973 where the 800-strong guest list included names like Liberace, Rudolf Nureyev and Rex Harrison. With Sir Warwick Fairfax at the centre of the dynasty's seat, Fairwater truly became the focal point of the family's story. The young Warwick took over the family publishing business following the death of his father Sir James in 1930, who had become one of Australia's most prominent figures after leading and growing a business that encompassed The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review – many of the country's top news publications. The family's influence was inestimable. During Warwick's tenure as head of the family business he took over the influential architecture, design and interiors review called: The Home. It was at this time that he really started to engage with collecting and decorating the family home at Fairwater. The founder of The Home, Ure Smith, became a close advisor and he introduced Warwick to a number of important figures in the art world who would go on to shape Warwick's collection. The combination of this new milieu and Warwick's marriage to his second wife Hanne, a Danish ballerina who loved the arts, galvanised the businessman's interest in collecting. Regular trips to Europe during the 1940s resulted in acquisitions from renowned galleries such as The Leicester Galleries, London, where Warwick purchased works by Marie Laurencin, Edgar Degas and Maurice Utrillo.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * TP* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.TP Lot will be moved to an offsite storage location (Cadogan Tate, Auction House Services, 241 Acton Lane, London NW10 7NP, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 14 calendar days from the auction date.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 108
A George III ormolu mounted japanned cabinet on a later standthe cabinet probably circa 1760, the stand almost certainly 19th centuryDecorated with assorted figures, exotic birds, trees, pagodas, flowers and foliage within rural landscapes, the pair of doors enclosing twenty-three drawers of various proportions encompassing a central fall, enclosing an open compartment flanked to one side by four short drawers, on a stand decorated with shaped cartouches of flowers, on cabriole legs, 97.5cm wide x 49.5cm deep x 145cm high, (38in wide x 19in deep x 57in high)This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TPTP Lot will be moved to an offsite storage location (Cadogan Tate, Auction House Services, 241 Acton Lane, London NW10 7NP, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 14 calendar days from the auction date.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 23
A pair of George II mahogany hall chairsCirca 1750, each with a shell back centred by an oval tablet painted with a crest depicting a cockerel, above a scroll carved scallop shell seat, on scroll eared cabriole front legs, with a splayed and shaped rear end support and waved stretchers, each chair approximately: 50cm wide x 57cm deep x 99cm high, (19 1/2in wide x 22in deep x 38 1/2in high) (2)Footnotes:An almost identical pair of hall chairs to the present lot sold Christie's, London, 13th November 2018, The Collector, lot 20. Other closely related examples include; a pair of virtually identical chairs, possibly even from the same set as the above, previously from the collection of the Earls of Guildford; a pair of chairs made for Francis Basset, Esq. (d. 1769) at Tehidy Park, Cornwall (sold Christie's, New York, 18 October 2005, lot 450 and again Christie's, London, 18 June 2008, Simon Sainsbury, 'The Creation of an English Arcadia', lot 75); a set of eight supplied to St Giles's House, Dorset (illustrated in A. Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London, 1968, fig. 366); and finally two pairs of chairs from the Rovensky collection sold Sotheby's, New York, 5-6 April 2006, lots 419 and 420.The offered chairs follow a hall chair design, with a similarly naturalistic carved back, originally published by Matthias Darly (d. 1780) between 1750 and 1751. Evidently, due to the popularity of the form, this drawing was later re-published in the 1766 Chair Maker's Guide by 'Robert Mainwaring Cabinet-Maker and Others', see C. Gilbert, The Early Furniture Designs of Matthias Darly, Furniture History, 1975, p. 37 and pl.'s 39 & 69. In 1753 Chippendale, who was at the time in the process of compiling the first edition of The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, (1754), chose Darly, who quipped about himself as being 'Professor of Ornament to the Academy of Great Britain', to engrave ninety-eight of the total one hundred and forty-seven plates to be ultimately included therein. And it seems very likely that Chippendale imitated or rather adapted his own garden seat pattern, plate XXIV in the third edition (1762), directly from Darly's model.Both designs derive from the Italian Renaissance sgabello chair. Although such hall chairs are often associated with painted grotto chairs since they share a related organic design that, as in this instance, incorporates the scallop-shell form which is representative of the goddess Venus's birth, these hall chairs were never intended to be used outdoors. Hall chairs were usually part of a large set of eight or more intended for the entrance hall and with their coats-of-arms or crests (as in this case) they were as much about dynastic display as for practical use. Chippendale's description of such chairs states: 'They may be made either of Mahogany, of any other Wood, and painted, and have commonly wooden Seats. If the Carving of the Chairs in Plate XVIII was thought superfluous, the Outlines may be preserved, and they will look very well... Arms, if required, may be put to those Chairs'.Among the numerous families documented as having a cockerel for their crest or charge appear the following surnames: Sinclair, Crow, Rigg, Williams, Cockridge, King, Cox, Allcock and Ingram. However, unfortunately the only distinguishing feature of the particular depiction of a cockerel on the offered lot is that he is armed and most likely represented in his proper tinctures. Nonetheless it has not proven possible to discover which specific historic family commissioned this pair of hall chairs nor in fact to which family these directly relate.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TPTP Lot will be moved to an offsite storage location (Cadogan Tate, Auction House Services, 241 Acton Lane, London NW10 7NP, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 14 calendar days from the auction date.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 26
A Charles II oyster veneered olivewood, rosewood, ebony, stained bone and marquetry cabinet on a later standthe cabinet circa 1685, the frieze of the stand possibly 18th century but the legs laterInlaid with urns of assorted flowers within oval and arched tablets, with further foliage and flowers within shaped reserves and spandrels, the ogee moulded cornice above a pair of doors, enclosing nine drawers of various proportions encompassing a central door inlaid with the standing figure of Mars within an oval floral wreath surround, enclosing three drawers flanked by mirror panels over one drawer, the stand comprising one frieze drawer, on ring turned baluster cup-and-cover legs, with a shaped X-stretcher, 106cm wide x 51cm deep x 135cm high, (41 1/2in wide x 20in deep x 53in high)Footnotes:ProvenanceThe offered lot was formerly housed at Elston Hall, Nottinghamshire, which was the Darwin family home from the beginning of the 18th century until just after the Second World War. Thence by descent the present cabinet on stand was passed down to descendants of the Darwin family.Also it appears in an early 20th century photograph illustrating a seated female figure, referred to as 'Marnie' Darwin, who is evidently reading in the sitting room or drawing room at Elston.The Darwins at Elston HallAlthough the Darwins of Cleatham, Lincolnshire, had close connections to Elston Hall primarily through William Darwin from 1680 onwards, they did not in fact own the estate themselves until 1708, when Robert Darwin purchased it from the Lascelles family. Later on, another Robert Darwin (1724-1816) inherited the Elston estate in 1754. Robert, an avid lifelong botanist, is perhaps best known for his book entitled Principia Botanica, which was dedicated to his nephew, Robert Waring Darwin M.D., F.R.S., who would become the father of arguably the most famous and widely celebrated naturalist of all time, Charles Darwin.Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), also born at Elston and ultimately the grandfather of Charles, was one of the founding members of the important Lunar Society. He became a renowned doctor and physician noted for his various inventions, brilliant observations and natural propensity for kindness towards the poor and less fortunate in society than himself. It is clear that Charles, in writing his magnum opus The Origin of Species which was published in 1859, must have been directly influenced by the radical opinions regarding evolution previously espoused by Erasmus. Despite the powerful effect that Erasmus evidently had upon Charles it appears that the latter never actually resided at Elston Hall, but he would have almost certainly visited the estate nonetheless.During the 20th century Charles John Wharton Darwin D.S.O. (1894-1941) - known simply as John by the family - joined the armed forces as a young man in 1912, transferring for active service to the newly established Royal Flying Corps (which later became the Royal Air Force) from 1916 onwards. John even went on to travel as part of Sir Winston Churchill's retinue to the Paris peace talks which immediately followed the end of the First World War. Although officially resigning his commission in 1928, John was in fact retained in a new role by the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). And, following a period of extensive travel in this capacity, he went on to be a key figure in the foundation of the Bletchley Park SIS operations during the early years of the Second World War.Despite only just escaping with his life following a flying accident in 1940, Christopher Darwin - one of Charles John Wharton's three children born to him by his wife Sybil Rose - still went on to fight in the Second World War. Christopher tragically died at El Alamein in August 1942 and although his body lies buried there, a memorial for him can be found alongside one for his more widely known ancestor Charles Darwin in All Saints Church, which is located in Elston village nearby to the Hall.With compliments to: Elstonheritage.org.ukThis lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TPTP Lot will be moved to an offsite storage location (Cadogan Tate, Auction House Services, 241 Acton Lane, London NW10 7NP, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 14 calendar days from the auction date.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 31
A pair of George III mahogany urns and pedestalsCirca 1785, each urn with a fluted and oak-leaf carved lid surmounted by a pineapple finial, above a reeded, beaded and berried stiff-leaf clasped body with a Vitruvian scroll and honeysuckle frieze, over a guilloche collar, enclosing a lead-lined interior, the pedestal with a gadrooned edge above an acanthus frieze, with a door below surmounted by scrolled flowers and foliage centred by a palmette, one pedestal enclosing a lead-lined interior and the other enclosing one lead-lined drawer, one shelf and a door, 48cm wide x 48cm deep x 175cm high, (18 1/2in wide x 18 1/2in deep x 68 1/2in high) (2)Footnotes:Some designs for closely comparable Neoclassical urns and pedestals to the offered lot, which were first published posthumously in 1787, are illustrated in G. Hepplewhite, The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide, pl.'s 35 & 36, New York, 1969. Between 1775 and 1785 a pair of urns and pedestals with similarly carved ornament, including almost identical Vitruvian scroll friezes and gadrooned pedestal top edges, were provided by the Gillows firm for Lulworth Castle, Dorset. The latter being the family home of the Welds, who also resided at Stoneyhurst in Lancashire. These examples feature in S. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London, 1730-1840, Vol. I, pl.'s 346 & 347, p. 310.A pair of mahogany knife urns, dating to circa 1790, which also share many characteristics in common with the present urns were bequeathed to the Victoria and Albert Museum by Dr T.R.C. Whipham through Barclays Bank Ltd. in 1945. One appears in M. Tomlin, Catalogue of Adam Period Furniture, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1972, London, W/2, p. 190.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TPTP Lot will be moved to an offsite storage location (Cadogan Tate, Auction House Services, 241 Acton Lane, London NW10 7NP, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 14 calendar days from the auction date.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 39
A George III mahogany writing table after a design by Thomas ChippendaleCirca 1760, of rectangular form with canted front angles, with a 'Chinoiserie' blind fretwork frieze incorporating one long drawer, with a baize-lined sliding top inset with an adjustable hinged ratcheted writing surface, enclosing six compartments and a swivel hinged stationery drawer to one side, on twinned columnar front legs and two square section rear legs each headed by interlaced scrolled spandrels, terminating in block feet, on castors, 118cm wide x 66cm deep x 79cm high, (46in wide x 25 1/2in deep x 31in high)Footnotes:The offered lot closely follows a design, originally published in 1754, which was produced by Thomas Chippendale and features in his groundbreaking work, The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker's Director, No. LXXIII. Although the present lot is virtually identical to this drawing it has not been possible to attribute this table to Chippendale's workshop. This is due to there being no available provenance for the table, combined with an absence of easily identifiable Chippendale characteristics such as S-shaped keyholes, short grain kickers or a thin red wash to give a few relevant examples.Also, because of the huge popularity and influence of all three editions of the 'Director', Chippendale's designs from that publication were widely copied and imitated across Great Britain, particularly during the period 1755-70 making the task of attribution even more arduous.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TPTP Lot will be moved to an offsite storage location (Cadogan Tate, Auction House Services, 241 Acton Lane, London NW10 7NP, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 14 calendar days from the auction date.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
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