Dreweatts 1759
Lot 224
A RARE PAINTED PINE DOG GATE PROBABLY 18TH CENTURY In 'Chinese Chippendale' taste, the fretwork gate with remnants of old ironmongery, previously blue painted 90cm high, 91cm wide overall Provenance: Arabesque Antiques For a comparable example of a dog gate- please see these rooms, Drew Pritchard: The Collection, 05 Mar 2024, lot 279 (sold £1550 hammer). So-called 'dog gates' were fitted to the staircase newel post, either at the bottom to prevent dogs coming up the stairs, or at the top to stop children falling down. The earliest recorded 'dog gate' is a Jacobean oak example still at Haddon Hall, Derbyshire (Gervase Jackson Stops, The English Country House, London, 1985, pages 64-5). Another, of vernacular form, dating from the Charles II period, with an oak frame and pine wriggle work splats, is likely to have matched the fretted sides of the staircase to which it was once attached (Christie's London, Interiors, 26 June 2016, lot 370). The 'Chinese paling' fretwork follows patterns popularised by the publications of architects and cabinetmakers of the period, notably Thomas Chippendale's The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker's Directory of 1754 and Sir William Chambers' Designs of Chinese Buildings, Furniture, etc. of 1757. Another related 'paling' example remains visible behind a staircase window in Rivers Street, Bath. Condition Report: Overall the painted surface is distressed, this has layers of paint and in areas (notably the top rail) this has been lost entirely and the pine surface below is visible - the wood here is 'sick' and spongey to the touch, the tops of the upright timber has holes and signs of rot to the ends - in other places the wood remains solid and stable, the metal hinge remnants have surface corrosion and losses, pitting.Overall with various knocks, marks, scratches, abrasions, flaking and paint lossPlease see additional images for visual reference to condition and appearance Condition Report Disclaimer
