A George II rosewood, kingwood oyster veneered, walnut, ivory and ebony chequer-inlaid bureau cabinet of generous proportionsCirca 1745, possibly Anglo-DutchWith chequer pattern mouldings and chequered featherbandings throughout, the triangular segmental pediment with an ogee and dentil moulded cornice above a pair of bevelled mirror glass inset panelled doors, each plate within a giltwood foliate slip, enclosing two adjustable shelves, over ten pigeon holes and four short drawers, with candle slides below, above a twin radiating segmentally oyster veneered fall enclosing a central arch-inlaid door, flanked by two leather bound bookends and eight pigeon holes, over two long and four short drawers, with lopers and four long graduated drawers below, on shaped ogee bracket feet, the oyster veneering to the fall front possibly of an earlier date, 122cm wide x 63cm deep x 259cm high, (48in wide x 24 1/2in deep x 101 1/2in high)Footnotes:ProvenanceBy repute within the current owner's family, the offered lot originally belonged to Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707-1751), who died before his father, George II, who reigned until 1760. Specifically this purported historic Royal ownership of the present bureau cabinet was proposed by the wife of the vendor's great grandfather.It is then presumed to have been owned by George III, Prince Frederick's brother, and later inherited by William IV, the latter being George III's son.It is believed that Queen Adelaide inherited the above cabinet following the death of William IV.And subsequently it appears to have been given to Rev. Thomas Pearson, the Queen's esteemed chaplain at Great Witley, where Queen Adelaide resided during the period 1842-1846.Thereafter, the offered lot passed by descent via the eldest sons to the current owner and has been housed at the latter's properties in Bath and Newbury. The history of William IV and Queen Adelaide's misfortunate inability to secure an heir is widely documented, however even for the period in which they lived it seems highly lamentable. In 1819 their first child, Charlotte, survived only for a few hours. The Queen went on to experience a miscarriage later the same year. Born in 1820, their second daughter died after three months. Subsequently, two boys were still-born merely two years after this, and there is a possibility that Queen Adelaide had a further miscarriage later that year. The tragic reality is that the Royal couple never had any surviving children.Evidently, Queen Adelaide's religious convictions remained strong throughout her life despite these grave trials and intense tribulations. It would seem to be the case that the Queen became acquainted with Rev. Thomas Pearson due to their shared beliefs and devout Christian faith. Clearly their association flourished into a mutual sense of admiration and respect at the very least, but perhaps even into a form of friendship, although this we will never know. Early on in their acquaintance, Thomas Pearson politely turned down an invitation from the Queen to appear at the Royal Court, giving the reasoning behind this decision to be the fact that he never went anywhere without his wife. Eventually both Pearson and his wife, Sarah, were invited together and of course then courteously accepted. Following meeting the Queen, the latter clearly developed a close relationship with Adelaide from that point onwards also. The item within this lot containing ivory has been registered in accordance with the Ivory Act (Section 10). Ref VATALYB6.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TP Y ФTP For auctions held in Scotland: Lots will be moved to an offsite storage location (Constantine, Constantine House, North Caldeen Road, Coatbridge ML5 4EF, Scotland, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please refer to the catalogue for further information.For all other auctions: Lots 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 UK, see clause 13.Ф This lot contains or is made of ivory and cannot be imported into the USA or any country within the EU.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
