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The Age of Matthew Boulton MASTERPIECES OF NEO-CLASSICISM

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Mallett's are higely proud and privileged to have acquired this remarkable collection of Matthew Boulton objects and great neoclassical furniture. It was formed by a passionate enthusiast noted for his scholastic approach and a pursuit of absolute perfection of detail. Those qualities are seen on every page here and indeed this is a remarkable assembly of pieces. I am enormously grateful to Sir Nicholas Goodison, the leading authority on Matthew Boulton, for his Introduction and for his assistance with cataloguing, to Martin Levy of Blairman for his help, and also to Roger Smith for his invaluable observations on the pieces by Benjamin Vulliamy, clockmaker to the King. Lanto Synge Chief Executive

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Page 1: The Age of Matthew Boulton MASTERPIECES OF NEO-CLASSICISM

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MALLET T Established 1865

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MALLET T The Age of Matthew Boulton

M A S T E R P I E C E S O F N E O - C L A S S I C I S M

141 N E W B O N D S T R E E T , L O N D O N W I Y OBS

T E L E P H O N E : 0 2 0 7 4 9 9 7 4 1 1 • FAX: 0 2 0 7 4 9 5 3 1 7 9 • E - M A I L : [email protected]

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CONTENTS

F O R E W O R D By Lanto Synge

I N T R O D U C T I O N By Nicholas Goodison

IN SEARCH OF T H E A N C I E N T S 10 Classical design in the late 18th century

ADAM PERIOD The Rosebery desk 14 The Apsley House torcheres 22 A Chippendale secretaire abattant 26 The Keate coin cabinet 30 A Sheraton harlequin Pembroke table 36 A ladies' writing cabinet 40 A pair of anthemion back armchairs 42

M A T T H E W BOULTON Bacchanalian vase 44 Venus clock 48 Venus perfume burner 50 Emperor candle vases 52 A large pair of blue john perfume burners 56 Minerva clock - - 58 Blue john perfume burners 62 A winged figure candelabrum 64 A pair of ormolu perfume burners — 66 A pair of white marble perfume burners 68 Cleopatra vases — - 70 Urania watch stand 72 A pair of candelabra — 76 A French clock — - 80

T W O O R N A M E N T A L CLOCKS BY V U L L I A M Y .82 By Roger Smith

B E N J A M I N V U L L I A M Y An Astronomy clock 86 A Sphinx mantel clock 90

R E G E N C Y A Regency day bed 94 A bonheur du jour 96 A secretaire cabinet 98 A writing table 100 A collector's cabinet 102 A sarcophagus inkstand 106 An ormolu centre table 110 A specimen wood sofa table 112 A cabinet in the Egyptian taste 114 A pair of bronze and ormolu table lamps 116

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F O R E W O R D

Mallett 's are hugely proud and feel privileged to have acquired this remarkable collection of Mat thew Boulton objects and great neo-classical furniture. It was formed by a passionate enthusiast noted for his scholastic approach and a pursuit o f absolute perfection of detail. Those qualities are seen on every page here and indeed this is a remarkable assembly of pieces.

M a t t h e w Boulton achieved in his gilt metal objects a dignified sophistication quite different to French ormolu pieces and in addition they often incorporate the uniquely British blue john, or other rare stones. Emblematic o f English neo-classical taste, typified by the architect Robert Adam, Boulton's works , together with the outstanding furniture shown here, display a very special glory derived from the extraordinary impetus o f neo-classical inspiration that arose in the European and decorative arts from the 1 7 6 0 ' s onwards. T h e collection also includes fine items that followed on in this tradition in the Regency period, pieces with a more dramatic and theatrical neo-classicism associated with the reign of George IV.

I am enormously grateful to Sir Nicholas Goodison, the leading authority on M a t t h e w Boulton, for his Introduction and for his assistance with cataloguing, to Mart in Levy of Blairman for his help, and also to Roger Smith for his invaluable observations on the pieces by Benjamin Vulliamy, c lockmaker to the King.

Lanto Synge Chief Executive

Front cover: Minerva Clock by Mat thew Boulton (see page 58 ) .

Frontispiece: A detail from one o f a pair of anthemion back armchairs (see page 42 ) .

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The Age of Matthew Bouhon - Masterpieces of Neo-Classicism

I N T R O D U C T I O N By Nicholas Goodison

It is not often that so many pieces of decorative ormolu from Bouhon and Fothergill's manufactory at Soho have been seen together. Even the best pubhc collections of Matthew Boulton's ormolu ornaments in Birmingham, London and New York, which contain pieces of the greatest quality, do not number as many pieces as we see here today.

This exhibition is the happy result of a decision by a perceptive collector in the United States to sell the collection which he has built during the last thirty years. The collection well illustrates the fashion for the antique taste and the craze for vases which Matthew Boulton exploited. There is a splendid range of vase forms, two classical gods, three goddesses (including a muse), four emperors, and a host of classical figurative and decorative motifs.

The collection includes vases representative of the developing range of Boulton's ormolu ornaments during the 1770s. The candle vases on page 70 for example were one of the earliest designs at Soho and are of a type which figured in the

sales in 1770-1 . Made of blue john, glass panels painted to simulate aventurine, and stamped and cast ormolu ornaments, they typify Boulton's early essays in the making of smaller decorative pieces. The altogether grander vase on page 44 , made in about 1776-8 of white marble mounted with cast ornaments, shows a refinement of design and manufacture of which the manufactory was incapable less than ten years earlier.

Boulton's repertoire of ornament was drawn from books, models borrowed from other makers, plaster casts, other artefacts, architects (particularly William Chambers who was his major influence after 1770) , indeed from anywhere and anyone who suited his aims. He set out to rival the French bronziers who had mounted all sorts of china vases with gilt mounts, but rather than use china bodies he preferred to find his raw materials nearer home. In some cases he used glass bodies from his friend James Keir's works at Stourbridge, but in most of his vases he used stone bodies from Derbyshire. Best known for mounting blue john, a beautifully veined

fluorspar (page 56 shows two particularly fine vases made of this stone), he also used local marbles (pages 4 4 and 68) and sometimes gilt copper.

The range of his products included candle vases, perfume burners, clock cases, watch stands, candlesticks, ewers, girandoles and sconces, furniture and door mounts, tea urns, ice pails, picture frames and several other objects. But the vast majority were candle vases and perfume burners, often combined. This collection has good examples of each. It also contains a 'Minerva' clock case (pages 58 to 61), one of three expensive designs which he tried to sell to the Russian court in 1771-2, and an obelisk watch stand depicting Urania the Muse of astronomy (page 73), with an equation table on an enamel plaque on the pedestal, intended for the French market. These two pieces illustrate Boulton's liking for classical allegory, as do the 'Venus' vase (page 51) and the 'Bacchanalian' vase (page 44) , which to my eye is the most satisfactory of all Boulton's vase designs. It depicts Mercury giving the

Left: detail from the Minerva clock (see page 5 8 ) .

Right: detail from a winged figure candelabrum (see page 64),

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W' la

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T h e Age of Mat thew Boulton - Masterpieces of Neo-Classicism

infant Bacchus to his aunt Ino after his mother Semele had been burned up when she asked to see Zeus in his real form, and is suitably decorated with Bacchic revellers and vines. T h e design is based on a well-known classical vase.

It was with designs such as these that Boulton and his partner J o h n Fothergill hoped to make money out of the nobility and gentry. Boulton put a huge amount o f effort into developing his contacts with potential buyers of his ornaments , and had some considerable success, as both his archives and many surviving ornaments show. But the business was a financial failure, being in Keir's words ' too expensive for general demand, and therefore not a proper object of wholesale manufacture ' . On the credit side, it greatly enhanced his reputation for manufacturing objects of quality in metal and gave him plenty of contacts among influential people, both of which paid off handsomely when he developed his businesses in steam engines and coinage. It also provided him with many designs and models which he was able to apply to his silver and silver plate business.

Today's discerning collectors have very much taken to Boulton's ormolu ornaments. They are right to do so, because they are among the most outstanding examples of English decorative art in the antique taste (the contemporary term for what later became known as neo-classical taste). It is instructive to see them in this collection accompanied by other fine objects made in the same taste, particularly the superb marquetry roll-top desk (page 14) and the small cabinet with pietra dura panels and English ormolu mounts, designed by Robert Adam for George Keate in 1 7 7 7 (page 3 0 ) . I wish I could tell you that these mounts were made at Boulton and Fothergill 's manufactory at Soho, like the mounts for the well-known cabinet with pietra dura panels made by Ince and M a y h e w to a design by Robert Adam for the Duke and Duchess of Manchester in 1 7 7 4 - 6 , which is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. But no evidence for the making of this remarkable object has yet come to light.

Left: Matthew Boulton by an unknown artist. Rcproduccd by courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London. Above: Detail from the Emperor candle vases (see page 52).

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The Age of Matthew Boulton - Masterpieces of Neo-Classicism

IN SEARCH OF T H E A N C I E N T S Classical design in the late 18th century

Towards the end of the 18th century England had matured as a world power and her dominions stretched across much of the globe. With this new maturity came a sense of immortality that the prosperity and longevity of the nation was held firmly in the grip of a people who over the past one hundred and fifty years had established strong trading links to all corners of the globe, supported by a navy of unmatched superiority. Apart from the loss of the American colonies, there was a long spell of peace, brought about by the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763 that ended the Seven Years War, which allowed for much innovative experimentation in the arts, particularly designs for architecture and furniture. Many of the elite class of newly rich, whose huge wealth had been won through trade and not battle, began to thirst for a fashion not carved from their own aesthete and taste but from another glorious age and civilisation, that of the ancient Greeks. It was the tales of Homeric heroes entwined with the beauty of classical architecture that was the lure to young men to undertake the grand tour and complete what they saw as essential for their education and acceptance into a sophisticated society back in England and

to return without that sense of inferiority from which, according to Dr Johnson, every man suffered who had not been to Italy. Not surprisingly, what they saw on their travels would play a major role in shaping the fashionable taste of the day to display their wealth and culture to their peers.

At the same time as England's taste was being further refined, the trade from both East and West was bringing to the workshops of artists and furniture designers an amazing variety of exotic woods that had never been seen before. These included woods with such extraordinary names as calamander, zebrawood, rosewood, satinwood and many varieties of ebony. This coincided with the invention by Sir Samuel Bentham in 1791 of a mechanical planing machine. Originally designed for use by convicts, it soon became apparent that the finest veneers could be finished to enhance the colour and grain of these woods and the larger workshops made full use of its potential. Furthermore many pieces were enriched with ormolu mounts which in combination with the glamour of rare woods created pieces portraying extreme luxury. This came about partly as an indirect result of the escalating wars with Napoleon. The cost of living in England had

been pushed to almost double between 1795 and 1815 and it became increasingly difficult to profit from the man-hours required to inlay with complex marquetry the grander pieces of furniture. The easiest solution was to use gilded metal, primarily bronze, to enrich the furniture, much as the French had in the reign of Louis XVI . Not only that, the rare woods had become harder to obtain as delivery was so uncertain with the battling English and French fleets causing havoc with sea trade. Although now at war, the English aristocracy had never failed to be impressed by French taste which had continued to influence English design through the 18th century. This culminated in an explosion of classical fervour after the publication in the final year of the 18th century of an ambitious volume of designs by two French architects, Pierre Franois Fountaine and Charles Percier, which later became the foundation stone of new classical projects, now known as Empire, which flourished under Napoleon.

England, however, had their own classical champion in the later years of the reign of George III in the form of Robert Adam, the Scottish architect who would revolutionise fashion between 1770 and

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Right: The tomh of Agrippa in the Pantheon, Rome A Desgodetz, Edifice Antiques de Rome, 1682 (see page 106). Opposite page: Detail from the Rosebery desk (see page 14).

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T h e Age of M a t t h e w Boulton - Masterpieces of Neo-Classicism

1790 and w h o s e inf luence w o u l d con t i nue t h r o u g h m a n y revivals unti l the 1930 ' s . T h e t o p o g r a p h i c a l wa te r co lou r i s t T h o m a s M a l t o n w r o t e in 1792: ' the Mess r s A d a m s , f ou r b ro the r s , by w h o s e l abou r s G r e a t Britain has been embel l i shed wi th m a n y edifices of d is t inguished excellence. To the i r researches a m o n g the vestiges of an t iqu i ty we are indeb ted for m a n y i m p r o v e m e n t s in o r n a m e n t a l a rch i tec tu re ; a n d for the i n t roduc t ion of a style of deco ra t i on , unr ival led for e legance and gaiety; which in spi te of the i nnova t i ons of f a sh ion , will prevail as long as good tas te exists in the n a t i o n . ' Initially inf luenced by the f l owing and na tura l i s t i c f o rms of the rococo which had tr ied to re-create ' the pure spiri t of the anc ien t s ' a n d had g r o w n f r o m the strict fo rm of Pal ladio 's inf luence, R o b e r t A d a m had a new vision of a rch i t ec tu re a n d design, the neo-classical . It w a s t h r o u g h the pub l ica t ion in 1754 of

The Ruins of Palmyra by R o b e r t Wood t h a t the t rue style of the anc ients could be f o u n d in Imper ia l R o m e and no t Pa l lad io a n d later I tal ian archi tec ts . On ly a year a f t e r this pub l ica t ion A d a m , aged twen ty -six, was invited to a c c o m p a n y Lord H o p e on his o w n g r a n d t o u r which w a s to be the beginning of his ambi t i ons . Quick ly pu t off by his nob le c o m p a n i o n ' s less than savoury pursu i t s , he decided to devo te himself t o s tudy a n d developed his pass ion for classical design over the fo l lowing fou r years of t ravel . It was du r ing these years t h a t he me t m a n y en l igh tened classical en thus ias t s and n o d o u b t was great ly s t imula ted by these con t ac t s w h o included Sir Wil l iam C h a m b e r s , the pa in te r P o m p e o Batoni , the French archi tec ts Peyre a n d D e p r o u x , the d r a u g h t s m a n Cler isseau and a n o t h e r ar t is t M e n g s and his s tuden t , a fe l low Scot, Gavin H a m i l t o n .

O n his re tu rn t o L o n d o n he es tabl ished himself wi th his b r o t h e r J ames a n d m a d e full use of his earl ier inf luent ia l con tac t s to p r o m o t e his ideas. Wi th the help of these par t ies , par t icu la r ly Lord Mans f i e ld and Lord Bute, he was a p p o i n t e d Archi tec t of the King's W o r k s and f r o m this po in t on his c o m m i s s i o n s c a m e in wi th ever increas ing speed. Wi th his i r repressible en thus i a sm a n d appe t i t e for w o r k an e n o r m o u s n u m b e r of houses were e i ther comple te ly re -model led or, in the cases of such magn i f i cen t houses as Syon a n d Osterley, buil t f r o m the g r o u n d up . By the t ime of his dea th in 1792 a lmos t every aspect of a rch i t ec tu re and in ter ior design had been inf luenced by R o b e r t A d a m , f r o m the g r andes t bu i ld ing to the smallest d o o r lock, a legacy still engender ing bo th a d m i r a t i o n and awe f r o m the h u n d r e d s of t h o u s a n d s of vis i tors to Britain 's g rea t c o u n t r y houses every year.

Left: Detail of R{)f>crt Adam's desij;n for the Keatc coin cabinet (see page 30). Reproduced by courtesy of Sir John Soane's M u s e u m , London . Right: Robert Atlam at tr ibuted to George Willison. Reproduced by courtesy of the Nat iona l Portrai t (iallery, London .

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T H E ROSEBERY DESK Attributed to May hew & Ince

A highly important George III roll-top desk inlaid throughout with superb marquetry of neo-classical design, the tambour top with satinwood and yewwood bands, divided by tulipwood stringing and inlaid with boxwood waved lines and spots, with a shaped gilt metal handle opening to reveal an inset leather writing surface with gilt tooling and a series of pigeon holes in satinwood and small drawers in burr yew, flanking a central cupboard door of mahogany with classical painted decoration depicting a young girl with a garland of flowers within a laurel border, flanked by satinwood and ebony panels of geometric form also with floral decoration; all above a single drawer in the frieze with an ebony veneered foliate marquetry tablet between

ring-pull handles on a square burr maple background, inset from two larger panels of partridgewood with boxwood and penwork griffins, all below a Greek key pattern border; the sides in satinwood with marquetry of a classical urn and entwining foliate and floral decoration within a floral border, above a band of partridgewood with bold boxwood acanthus and penwork, supported on four square tapering satinwood legs, fluted and with shark's tooth marquetry and partridgewood banding, with gilded ormolu enrichments throughout.

English, circa 1775 Height: 36/2 in / 93 cm Width: 2,1% in / 83 cm Depth: 25/4 in / 64 cm

P R O V E N A N C E

Archibald, 5th Earl Rosebery 1847-1929 and Hannah de Rothschild (1851-1890); By descent to his eldest daughter. Lady Sybil Grant, wife of Lt Gen Sir Robert Grant KCVO at The Durdans, Epsom, Surrey; By whom sold Knight Frank & Rutley, Hanover Rooms, London, 9th March 1956; Norman Adams Ltd, London to whom sold, 27th March 1956; Private collection, Toronto, Canada until 1989.

LITERATURE

Lucy Wood, Catalogue of Commodes, The Lady Lever Art Gallery, HMSO, 1992, p 229, fig 215 Clifford Musgrave, Adam and Hepplewhite Furniture, Faber, 1966

The Rosebery desk 15

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RW Symonds, Inlaid Furniture in the Neo-classical Style, Connoisseur, June 1956 , pp 24-9 , fig 3-5; republished Connoisseur, 1972

E X H I B I T E D

On loan to the Metropolitan Museum, New York, until 2 0 0 0

This desk ranks as one of the most exquisite examples of late 18th century English furniture, exemplifying a cultural elite's passion for highly refined neo-classical derived ornament and design. This taste was championed by the leading designers and architects of their day led by Robert Adam and William Chambers.

In the closing decades of the 18th century England was at the height of her economic and cultural powers. The new found confidence of English craftsmen had allowed England for the first time to create her own highly sophisticated domestic style which was to be widely admired and emulated, even by the French from whom England traditionally turned to for cultural inspiration.

The work of William Chambers and Robert Adam, who introduced his works through his 1773 publication, relied heavily on the designs and ornament of Ancient Rome. The engraved designs fuelled a craze for the English passion for Roman classical grandeur and imposing order. As a result of the popularity of the Grand Tour, young noble Englishmen would return from their travels wanting to transform their out-moded London houses and country seats into temples of culture and luxury to reflect the classical architecture and ornament they had studied.

This desire for classical proportion, function and design was extended from architecture to decoration. All these elements are combined in this desk to create one of the most refined pieces of Adam period furniture. Robert Adam had collaborated with the top cabinet-makers of his day to ensure the furniture and architectural detailing was co-ordinated to produce a unified interior. This extraordinary attention to overall detail was achieved in his interiors found at

20 St James's Square, London, for the Welsh aristocrat, Sir William Wynn, Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire, for Sir Nathaniel Curzon and Osterley Park, Middlesex, for the banker Sir Robert Child. Adam corresponded with John Linnell, Thomas Chippendale and Mayhew & Ince, to whom this extraordinary piece is attributed.

T H E P R O V E N A N C E

The prime provenance has not as yet been established. However, in 1956 this desk was sold from the collection of the late Lady Sybil Grant, the wife of Lt Gen Sir Robert Grant KCVO. Lady Sybil was the eldest daughter of the statesman Archibald, 5th Earl of Rosebery, and his wife Hannah, the sole heiress of Baron Meyer de Rothschild. In 1878 Rosebery had married Hannah and she had brought with her her father's legendary collection of magnificent European pictures and furniture housed at Mentmore, his Buckinghamshire seat. Hannah took a passionate interest in her father's collection and documented it meticulously. She presented her husband with an admirable catalogue with the words 'In time to come, when, like all collections this will be dispersed (and I hope this will be long after my death) this book may be of value'. Only fifty copies were published privately that Hannah inscribed and presented to friends and members of her family. The contents of this catalogue became the core of the collection to which Hannah and her husband began to add significantly during a remarkable period of collecting.

The late 19th century saw many of the great English families being allowed for the first time to sell part of their collections as the agricultural depression of the l870 ' s and 1880's took its toll and land prices collapsed. The famous collections formed during the 18th century began to be broken up as the law of entail, which prevented the divorcing of the contents from the great houses, was reformed, easing their sale. The Rosebery's took advantage of the dispersal of these collections and consulted the leading experts and dealers of the day who acted as their agents, discreetly buying privately on their behalf or at the increasing number of sales. The famous sales of the Duke of Hamilton

16 The Rosebery desk

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The roll top desk attributed to Mayhew and Ince at Syon House, Middlesex. Reproduced by kind permission of His Grace the Duke of Northumberland.

in 1882, the Duke of Marlborough in 1886, the Earl of Lonsdale in 1887 and the Marquess of Exeter in 1888 presented some extraordinary opportunities which the Rosebery's, unaffected by the financial depression, seized. It is probably at this time that this desk was acquired for either Mentmore or for Lord Rosebery's favourite house. The Durdans, near Epsom racecourse where he famously realised one of his ambitions when he won The Derby in 1894. Lord Rosebery had bought The Durdans in 1874 and left it on his death in 1929 to his daughter. Lady Sybil. Lady Sybil it appears did not share her parents ' passion for collecting and controversially sold her father's famous library in 1933. She consolidated the collection and removed the two Victorian wings with their thirty bedrooms which her father had added. Lady Sybil led an unconventional life and befriended the gypsies who frequented the nearby racecourse, exchanging the comfort of The Durdans for a gypsy caravan in the surrounding woods. The desk remained at the house until it was sold in 1956.

THE ATTRIBUTION TO MAYHEW & INCE

The Rosebery desk was almost certainly made by the extremely fashionable cabinet makers Mayhew & Ince who supplied many of the great collectors of their day and ranked the King, the Duke of Manchester, the Earl of Coventry, the Earl of Kerry among their distinguished aristocratic clients. They advertised themselves as 'Cabinet makers, upholders, undertakers. Carvers, Gilders & Manufacturers of plate Glass at the Warehouses Broad Street, Soho'. One of the firm's most valued clients was the 4th Duke of Marlborough and the firm's famous and influential publication The Universal System for Household Furniture of 1762 was dedicated to him. Marlborough had engaged Sir William Chambers to remodel and furnish their private apartments in the east wing of his seat Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire. Mayhew &: Ince had already supplied pieces to the Duchess' family at Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire and it is most probably through this link that the firm was

18 The Rosebery desk

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The Rosebery desk 19

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granted commissions at Blenheim. Recently discovered bills from Mayhew & Ince survive in the Blenheim papers' dated 25th June 1789 and in the steward's daybook^ of 'Furniture that came to Blenheim', 1773-c l793 a tantalising mention is made in 1787 to 'a secretary for Duke's dressing room'. Sadly much of Chambers' original scheme has been removed and the furniture dispersed. Two similar desks of this model attributed to Mayhew & Ince are recorded. One remains in a private collection' and the other belongs to the collection of the Duke of Northumberland at Syon House, Middlesex (see page 18). Mayhew & Ince certainly supplied furniture to the Northumberlands although no reference is made to this desk until the 1786 inventory at Northumberland House. The similarity of rich inlays and form demonstrates the stylistic characteristics of the firm and indeed certain elements are repeated on all three desks.

T H E D E S I G N Huge attention to detail was lavished on the Rosebery desk. The front of the frieze drawer is carefully divided into five distinct panels. The central panel is meticulously inlaid with scrolling rinceaux against an ebony ground in the fashionable 'Etruscan' manner. The details are carefully highlighted with fine engraved penwork that remains in superb condition. There is an identical design found on the frieze tablet of another commode" also attributed to Mayhew & Ince. The drawer's central panel is bordered on either side by two small satinwood framed panels centred by

gilt lacquered ring handles with paterae back plates. These in turn are flanked by two curious inward facing inlaid wyverns against a burr maple ground. Again the use of the wyvern is found on furniture associated with Mayhew & Ince. Examples may be seen on a bureau cabinet formerly in the collection of Mr EC Wigan', a Pembroke table with Mallett' in 1956, a commode formerly with Partridge Fine Arts and a commode in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Liverpool. Burr maple does not seem to have been used by other top cabinet-makers and is increasingly associated with the firm's work, along with their painstaking neo-classical marquetry.

T H E M O U N T S The desk differs further from the other two desks by its use of ormolu mounts and gilded handles. The lower edge of the drawer frieze is emphasised by a fine bay leaf repeat pattern ormolu moulding which balances the dentil inlaid frieze above. This attention to detail is extraordinary with even the original gilded screw heads being chased to match the surrounding ormolu. The foliate pierced apron mounts are carefully designed with arabesques reflecting those of the marquetry of the panels above. Ormolu mounts are rarely found on any but the grandest pieces of English furniture of this period. The use of mounts was usually associated with French furniture. However, cabinet-makers such as the French emigre Pierre Langlois, working in London in the 1760's, had begun to incorporate them in the design of his heavily French influenced pieces. The

English however, had little experience of making or moulu^, as it was known, until Matthew Boulton began to specialise in its manufacture in Birmingham in the 1770's. Boulton's production mainly concentrated on the manufacture of ormolu mounted vases, objects and 'toys' but he is known to have produced high quality ormolu furniture mounts for specific commissions. Boulton certainly corresponded with Mayhew & Ince", gilding and repairing ornaments for them. Significantly, when Mayhew & Ince were to make the famous Jewel Cabinet for the Duchess of Manchester, to designs of Robert Adam, it was to Boulton and Fothergill to whom they entrusted the making of the mounts in 1774'. The cost of the mounts came to the high sum of £73 l i s Od'" but was later to be increased at the behest of Mayhew & Ince. Considering the collaboration of the two firms it is tempting to attribute the mounts of the desk to Boulton, as this desk would have ranked as one of Mayhew & Ince's most important commissions.

Interestingly, exactly the same design of mount appears on the central apron of the impressive commode also attributed to Mayhew & Ince and now at the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Liverpool". The same distinctive marquetry scaly wyverns found on the drawer front of the desk reappear with unfurled tails below the painted medallion of the central door of the commode.

Above all, this magnificent desk represents a peak of neo-classical furniture design and execution during a period regarded as the 'Golden Age' of English furniture.

Blenheim Papers, British Library, London MSS Add 61678 ff.136,138. Blenheim Papers, Oxon. Exhibited C.I.N.O.A. International Art Treasures Exhibition, Victoria & Albert Museum 1962 no 97 by Quinney's Ltd, Chester. Private collection, London. C;hristie's, London, lot 108, 27 November 1980. Country Life, November 1956, p i026 .

Ormolu - The Work of Matthew Boulton, N Goodison 1974. Boulton & Fothergill correspondence with Mayhew & Ince, Assay Office, Birmingham. Boulton & Fothergill to William Ince, 3rd December 1774, Assay Office, Birmingham.

' Boulton & Fothergill to Mayhew & Ince, 16th October 1775, Assay Office, Birmingham. Wood, Lucy, The Lady Lever Art Gallery Catalogue of Commodes, H.MSO, 1994 p No 27 pp 226, Plate 29.

20 The Rosebery desk

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(IT A A A

* ' a

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THE APSLEY HOUSE T O R C H E R E S By Robert Adam

A pair of George III giltwood and gesso torcheres and candelabra by Robert Adam (1728-1792), the triangular plinth on claw feet, the concave sides with oval medallions depicting young girls in classical dress playing musical instruments, the top edge with arched foliate decoration, the corners with stylised acanthus topped with ram's heads, all supporting a turned circular column decorated at the base with oval paterae and harebell swags, the centre with fluting and acanthus carving with a small guilloche band, the top with further fluting and decoration, edged with Vitruvian scrolling, each supporting a candelabrum in the form of seated griffins below four candle arms, centred by a classical urn with guilloche band and a fifth candle holder.

English, circa 1780 Height of torchere: 47% in / 121 cm Overall height with candelabra: 64Vi in / 164 cm Diameter of top: 13 in / 33 cm Width across feet: in / 40 cm

P R O V E N A N C E Designed and supplied by Robert Adam to Henry, Lord Apsley, later 2nd Earl Bathurst (1714-1794) for Apsley House, London in circa 1778.

These magnificent torcheres are a pair from an important set designed and supplied by the greatest neo-classical British architect, Robert Adam, to Henry, Lord Apsley, later 2nd Earl Bathurst for Apsley House, London. Adam proudly oversaw the entire building, decoration and furnishing of what was one of his most important private commissions. The house was later sold by Lord Bathurst's son to the Marquess Wellesley in 1805, who in turn sold it twelve years later to his famous younger brother, Arthur, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), victor over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.

Apsley House, built on the site of an old entrance lodge to Hyde Park, was commissioned by Lord Bathurst from Robert Adam who was employed there from 1771 to 1778 whilst the earl was Lord Chancellor. Adam's original drawings"

Design by Robert Adam for the torcheres. Reproduced by courtesy of Sir John Soane's Museum, London.

22 The Apsley House torcheres

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m i •= t J I f

24 The Apsley House torcheres

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show that the interiors were decorated in a refined neo-classical manner in the style of his great project at the Adelphi. As with all his great commissions Adam gave careful consideration to the unity of the decoration with detailed attention being given to the harmonious design of the walls, ceiling and furniture in each room.

These torcheres are remarkable in not only being one of the few pieces of surviving furniture confidently identified as being designed by Robert Adam for a specific location but also in retaining their original carved giltwood candelabra. Adam's actual coloured drawing, which he would have presented to Lord Bathurst, survives for these torcheres". The drawing, inscribed and dated 31 January 1778 shows the torcheres placed either side 'of a glass frame for the Piers of the Great Drawing Room at Bathurst House'. The light from the crisply carved candelabra would have reflected in the pier glasses creating a magnificent effect.

Adam derived the design of the torcheres from the famous 2nd century Roman candelabra from Santa Costanza" that he may have seen when he was in Rome for two years between 1755 and 1757 . The ancient carved marble triangular base is decorated on three sides and the angles similarly ornamented with three ram's heads with the baluster stem surmounted by a circular shelf to hold a large oil lamp.

When Apsley House was sold in 1805, Lord Wellesley regrettably engaged Adam's great rival James Wyatt (1746-1813) who spent two years and £ 2 0 , 0 0 0 redecorating and acquiring new furniture for the house, undoing much of Adam's original scheme and destroying The Great Drawing Room. Only two of Adam's original drawing rooms on the first floor survive with their original decoration and even James Wyatt's scheme was to be completely swept away yet again when his eldest son, Benjamin (1775-1850) , succeeded to his father's office and the project in 1813.

^ J / ,

Detail from Adam's design. Reproduced by courtesy of Sir J o h n Soane's Museum, London.

1

Sir J o h n Soane's Museum, London.

" Sir J o h n Soane's Museum, Vol 2 0 , N o 1 6 9 , (Box 3)

" N o w in the Salei dei Candelabri H, Vatican Museum, Rome.

The Apsley House torcheres 25

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A C H I P P E N D A L E SECRETAIRE ABATTANT Attributed to Thomas Chippendale

A late Chippendale period neo-classical satinwood secretaire abattant, the top with tulipwood crossbanding and boxwood stringing, with a long single drawer in the frieze above a weighted fall-front and writing surface inlaid with a marquetry vase within an oval fan-shaped border, with a series of small satinwood drawers below pigeon holes surrounding a large central well, the lower section with similar inlaid vase and border, opening to reveal three graduated long drawers with ring pull handles, the whole cabinet cross-banded and inlaid with tulipwood and boxwood and supported on tapering reeded legs on block feet.

English, circa 1775 Height: 49% in / 125 cm Width: 31 in / 79 cm Depth: 16 in / 41 cm

The strict proportions and neo-classical detailing of this beautiful secretaire are reminiscent of the late work of Thomas Chippendale and would appear to belong to a group believed to have been commissioned from his workshops. In around 1772 Chippendale supplied a secretaire with a marquetry dressing commode en suite to his great patron Edwin Lascelles (1712-1795) for Harewood House, Yorkshire. On 12th November

1773 a further famous example in lacquer was also supplied by Chippendale to Harewood for £26, and was sold with the assistance of Mallett to Temple Newsam, Leeds in 1999. This was described on the invoice as a 'Lady's Secretary' with 'the front of the Secretary to rise with Ballance Weights'. A further lacquer example was supplied for Mr Robert Child's dressing room at Osterley Park House, Middlesex.

These secretaires all share similarities of form and construction with the secretaire a abbatants found in France at the same time. Although the form was not widely embraced by the English patrons, it allowed the cabinet-maker to exploit the expansive

A Chippendale secretaire abattant 27

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surface of the secretaire's front to display rich veneers and marquetry as shown by the Harewood House example.

In this example beautiful and lustrous satinwood is used as a splendid background for the two meticulously inlaid central ovals with twin-handled urns framed with a fan-patterned border. The absence of any carved or gilt metal ornament only emphasises the severe neo-classical design. When first supplied the strong contrast between the various woods would have been dramatic. The very pale satinwood acted as a foil for

the dark purpleheart medallions and the tulipwood crossbanding emphasised the linearity of the piece. The attention to detail is followed through to the beautifully weighted fall front writing surface which opens to reveal a neatly fitted interior with drawers and pigeon-holes with the cupboard below containing three long drawers still bearing the original gilt lacquered handles. An almost identical secretaire of exactly these dimensions and marquetry was formerly in the collection of The Hon Lady Fry at Oare House, Wiltshire". " Christie's Year Book, 1966.

28 A Chippendale secretaire abattant

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T H E KEATE COIN CABINET The stand by Robert Adam

A pietra dura coin cabinet on a tulipwood and satinwood Etruscan style stand by Robert Adam ( 1 7 2 8 - 1 7 9 2 ) , the cabinet in oak with ebony veneers inset with superb and colourful panels of pietra dura, the top depicting a multi-coloured parrot perched on a cherry branch with fruit and leaves, with an inscription on the reverse Matteo Crebolans Fece Anno 1711 In Palleria di A..R, bordered with a pierced ormolu band of arched foliate design above a beaded edge, the sides decorated with fruit and flowers on

a moulded plinth with further foliate ormolu decoration; the stand with inset classical panels in ormolu of griffins and vases with foliate scrolls all on an ebony ground, above four square tapering legs with fluted satinwood inlay headed with oval floral paterae below further foliate enrichments, joined at the top with ormolu laurel swags and bows, and at the base with a shaped stretcher, the front edge with a band of ormolu with guilloche pattern, supported on gilt metal fluted ovoid feet.

The casket Italian, circa 1 7 1 1 The stand English, circa 1 7 7 7 Height: 3 5 in / 89 cm Width: 16 i n / 4 1 cm Depth: \3'A in / 3 3 . 5 cm

P R O V E N A N C E Supplied to George Keate ( 1 7 3 0 - 1 7 9 7 ) until sold by his executors; M r King, King Street, Covent Garden, London in 1 8 0 2 , lot 120 ; Private collection, USA until 1 9 9 5

3 0 The Keate coin cabinet

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i i U ^ i U U u d '

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< 'nxh / ;

L I T E R A T U R E

Clive Wainwright, Distressed Poet and his architect - George Keate and Robert Adam, Apollo, January 1996, pp39-44, ill 6-8 .

This casket-on-stand remains as one of the rarest pieces of late 18th century English furniture, designed by the most influential and famous of neo-classical architects, Robert Adam, and firmly documented with the original surviving drawings and identified patron". Much of the furniture originally designed by Adam has been dispersed or lost making this piece even more important in his surviving oeuvre.

In 1776 the Duchess of Manchester received from Robert Adam her celebrated cabinet, now at the Victoria and Albert Museum'^ designed by him for Kimbolton Castle, to display proudly her eleven marble intarsia panels by Baccio Capeili. The Manchester cabinet is now recognised as one of the most important pieces of 18th century English furniture that resulted in the collaboration of three of the masters of British neo-classical decorative design, Adam, Mayhew & Ince and Matthew Boulton. Very shortly after delivering this important commission Adam received a fascinating commission from George Keate (1730-1797) to provide a precious stand for his magnificent pietra dura casket. It is startling that within months of finishing the Manchester cabinet Adam was designing another, this time on a more jewel-like scale.

George Keate, the son and heir of George Keate of Isleworth, was born at Trowbridge, Wiltshire. In 1753 he was called to the bar but he seems to have abandoned the Law and embarked on a Grand Tour in 1754 when he was recorded living abroad in Geneva and Rome. Keate was clearly an active participant of the artistic milieu of late 18th century society for in 1766 he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Arts as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was certainly known to Garrick, Walpole, Chute, Nollekens and Angelica Kauffman. In the same year he married Jane Catherine, the daughter of Joseph Hudson a former Dutch Consul to Tunis.

It seems likely that Keate and Adam became friends during the Grand Tour as

Robert Adam's design reproduced by courtesy of Sir J o h n Soane's Museum, London

32 The Keate coin cabinet

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Adam had earlier designed the decorative

frontispiece for Keate's meticulous album of

watercolours in which he recorded his

travels. Keate's first dealings as a patron

with Adam began in 1772 when he

commissioned him to produce drawings for

a ceiling design" for the dining room at 8,

Charlotte Street", Bloomsbury, London,

and for a pair of girandoles'". Further

drawings for 'Mirrors" ' were supplied in

1773 followed by more in 1777 for ceiling

designs for the Octagon room and the

dressing room. It is not clear if any of these

designs were executed as none of the

original ceilings or furniture remain at the

house today. The friendship was to come to

an end when the ceiling in the Octagon

collapsed and Keate entered into a long

law-suit against Adam which he lost to his

cost of £163 14s 4d.

In 1777 Adam provided a partly

coloured drawing for a stand for a casket

inscribed For George Keate, Adelphi 1777,

which shows an elevation of a medal or

jewel casket sitting on a richly ormolu

mounted stand in the most refined neo-

classical taste. It is not known if the casket

had been collected by Keate whilst in Italy

in 1755 but the inlaid marble panels are of

the highest quality and almost certainly

originated from the Grand Ducal pietra

dura workshops of the Medici founded in

Florence in 1588 by Ferdinando I de

Medici. The wealthy and most sophisticated

grand tourists, such as the diarist John

Evelyn", collected these highly expensive

and elaborate panels, richly inlaid with

semi-precious stones and marbles, and often

had them inset into elaborate cabinets on

their return. The tradition of such cabinets

had evolved from the wunderkammer of the

17th century and continued throughout the

18th century with the most famous of these

cabinets, the Badminton Cabinet,

commissioned by the young Duke of

Beaufort in 1726, as well as the Manchester

Cabinet. A more direct comparison may be

drawn with a later Florentine casket-on-

stand"', at The Vyne, Hampshire, that

stands on an elaborately carved giltwood

stand. The casket dating to 1740-5 was

bought by John Chute (1701-1776), a great

patron and arbiter of 18th century taste,

who in around 1752 possibly commissioned

the great FLnglish cabinet-maker Wil l iam

Vile to supply a suitable carved giltwood

stand in the antique tradition. It is probable

Keate may have known of this cabinet as

contemporary correspondence indicates that

the two collectors were acquainted. The two

The Keate coin cabinet 33

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cabinets make a marvellous contrast, with the bold rococo design of Chute's cabinet on stand acting as a splendid foil to the detailed neo-classical restraint of Adam's twenty-five years later.

THE DESIGN It can be no coincidence that Adam was commissioned by Keate so quickly after supplying the Manchester Cabinet. One can surmise that Adam had either alluded to the commission or Keate had learnt of it from his connections at the Royal Society. The jewel-like quality and attention to detail of the design, marquetry, proportion and neo-classical mounts is reminiscent of the exquisite small scale pieces produced at exactly the same time by the great French ebenistes such as Martin Carlin and Adam Weisweiller. Adam was certainly familiar with French furniture through his clients' collections and from his stay there during a Grand Tour in 1754-58. The smaller formal pieces of French furniture with their exquisite mounts might well have been his inspiration.

The design, however, remains unusual for Adam as he combined the pietra dura, an art form associated with the 17th century, with that of late 18th century neo-classicism. The remarkable quality and excellent condition of the five panels used

on the four sides and lid of the casket is extraordinary. Panels tended to be made up of geometric patterns of rare marbles with the most expensive depicting pictorial images of birds, animals and townscapes. Judging by the construction of the casket it would appear that it was made in Italy possibly after the five panels had been carefully selected.

THE USE It is no longer clear whether the casket was originally fitted to house a collection of medals or jewels. However, in 1801 a mention was made by Francis Douce, the noted collecter and a neighbour, that he had bought lot 125 at Keate's sale which was a collection of 'Medal Boards made for a cabinet' for £7 10s. The fate of these boards is not known although the medals themselves are now at the Ashmolean Museum. Whatever the purpose, it was clearly intended to remain free standing in a central position to be admired from all sides and was possibly conceived as part of one of the decorative schemes supplied by Adam to Keate, indicated by the various designs he produced. It has been suggested that Keate proposed to use the Octagon Room as a small private museum room as was sometimes the fashion among dedicated collectors at the end of the 18th century.

' Adam drawings in Soane .Museum, London, Vol XVII no 33. Victoria and Albert Museum, London (W43-1949) . Adam drawings in SM, Vol XII nos 115-119. Now 10, Bloomsbury Street.

' Adam drawings in SM, Vol X X nos 102-103. Adam drawings in SM, Vol X X nos 104-108. Evelyn commissioned a cabinet for his pietra dura panels to which he referred to in his diaries in 1644-1645, sold at Christie's London in March 1977. AM Ginsti, I'ietre Dure, 1992, p 69 , pi 44 .

34 The Keate coin cabinet

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The Keate coin cabinet 35

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If:

£

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A S H E R A T O N H A R L E Q U I N P E M B R O K E TABLE

A George III harewood and satinwood harlequin Pembroke table, the top banded throughout in satinwood and with salt and pepper stringing, with two inset wells with oval burr yew panels within crossbanding, the first opening to reveal a small necessaire with fitted compartments, the satinwood lids with oval palm inset, the second lifting to reveal a series of small drawers for paints and brushes, the whole table inlaid throughout with spot and bead marquetry with oval panels of palm on the leaves, front and reverse, supported on square tapering legs terminating in brass castors.

English, circa 1775 Height: 28 in / 71 cm Width open: in / 83 cm Width closed: 17 i n / 4 3 cm Depth: 24/2 in / 62 cm

The form of the traditional Pembroke table, reputedly first made for the Countess of Pembroke (1737-1831) , has been improved in this beautifully proportioned and inlaid example. The form was known as early as 1766 when an example was supplied by Thomas Chippendale to Nostell Priory. The top with its raised sides allowed the

cabinet-maker to inlay the expanded surface with rich neo-classical details. The practical design, that allowed the form to be adapted for use as an embroidery or breakfast table, was even described in Jane Austen's novel Emma of 1814-15 by the central character when she persuades her father to dine from a proper dining table instead of 'the small size Pembroke table (he had) used for forty years'.

Thomas Sheraton illustrates a very similar mechanised harlequin table dated 1792 in his Drawing Book. The design with its counter weights and rising boxes

A Sheraton harlequin Pembroke table 37

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may not have been a new idea as Sheraton claimed but it had 'never been offered to the public on such an improved scale'. The compartment fitted with drawers is versatile as it may be raised and lowered to the required height by a winding mechanism which Sheraton went to exhaustive lengths to explain. He proudly pointed out that the table top 'can be secured in its place by means of a stop at the bottom, so that if the whole table were turned upside down the till would still keep its place.'

A comparable harewood harlequin Pembroke table, illustrated in The Dictionary of English Furniture, was

formerly in the collection of Mrs Denis King-Farlow" and the English country house historian, H Avray Tipping. The proportions are remarkably similar to this example, as is the design of the marquetry, suggesting that these two tables may have originated f rom the same workshop.

The interest in metamorphic furniture was to flourish later in the 19th century and this piece may be seen to be one of the most successful early examples.

" Il lustration Apollo Vol XXIV no 139 July, 1936, p 14.

38 A Sheraton harlequin Pembroke table

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1

V .

i i v ' i

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A L A D I E S ' W R I T I N G C A B I N E T

A mahogany and satinwood ladies' writing or work cabinet attributed to Seddon, Sons &C Shackleton, the superstructure with turned ebony finials at each corner, above a fall front decorated with a semi-elliptical rosewood band inlaid with boxwood in a dentil pattern, opening to reveal a series of nine small drawers above a single long drawer, all faced in satinwood and with ivory handles, the sides with a spindle gallery border flanking a quarter-elliptical return, above a single drawer in the frieze opening to reveal a writing slide fitted with a hidden compartment for quills and ink, the drawer front with a central tablet inlaid with a satinwood lozenge repeated at each side, supported on circular tapering legs joined by a shaped shelf stretcher, the cabinet and stand inlaid throughout with boxwood and ebony stringing .

English, circa 1780 Height: 43 in / 90 cm Width: 27 in / 69 cm Depth: 15% in / 39 cm

L I T E R A T U R E

Christopher Gilbert, Seddon, Sons & Shackleton, Journal of Furniture History Society, 1997

This highly unusual cabinet is one of a series of pieces thought to be made by Seddon, Sons & Shackleton in the 1780's as ladies' writing and work tables, all bearing very similar features of a superstructure with inlaid fall front above small drawers partially surrounded by a spindle gallery and decorated with lozenge motifs and geometric or Greek key inlay. One particular desk in the Metropolitan Museum in New York varies very slightly, having a painted front, but otherwise shares the same characteristics. Although no documentary evidence is known at this time for desks such as this, strong stylistic comparisons can be made to support the attribution. The ladies' dressing table in the Metropolitan Museum bears the label Seddon, Sons & Shackleton LONDON engraved on an ivory tablet and a further writing table in the Victoria and Albert Museum is inscribed July 17. 1794/no 4402/ Seddons & Co.

The firm of Seddon was set up by George Seddon in London in about 1750, while in his early twenties, in Aldersgate Street and seems to have flourished almost immediately. He continued to employ extra

craftsmen at a considerable rate eventually totalling almost four hundred people by 1786. In 1785 George encouraged his two sons, Thomas and George II, to become partners in the firm and they were all joined in 1790 by his son-in-law Thomas Shackleton. This partnership prospered until George Seddon died in 1801 when the inevitable family squabbles regarding all his children's inheritance came about, alongside accusations of mismanagement. The business continued, however, although not in the same form or with the same success, until the 1860's. It seems that the strength of the business lay very much in the grasp of the founder who eventually saw his workshops grow to be one of the largest in the late 18th century, when he was noted by the diarist Sophie Von La Roche as 'a man of genius, who understands the requirements of both the needy and the affluent, and knows how to please them with the products of nature and of other manufactories' artistry; who has made himself master of the qualities of wood from all parts of the world ... and the creative talent to keep on devising new forms.'

A ladies' writing cabinet 41

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A PAIR OF A N T H E M I O N BACK ARMCHAIRS

A pair of carved mahogany armchairs, the concave oval backs of pierced anthemion design within a carved laurel border, the out-swept arms with acanthus elbow supports headed with floral paterae, the uprights and seat rail also with laurel carving, supported on circular tapering and fluted legs headed by floral paterae above further acanthus decoration and terminating in stylised laurel toes.

English, circa 1775 Height: 36 in / 92 cm Width: 24 in / 61 cm Depth of seat: 19 in / 49 cm

E X H I B I T E D

On loan to Kenwood House, London until 2000.

L I T E R A T U R E

Christopher Claxton Stevens and Stewart Whittington, The Norman Adams Collection, 1983, p 72, pi 9 Herbert Cescinsky, The Old World House, 1924, vol II, p 249 Lanto Synge, Mallett Millenium, 1999, p 121, pi 134

This very finely executed pair of chairs is normally associated with the influence of

George Hepplewhite, whose fame is largely due to the publication shortly after his death of a volume of furniture designs entitled The Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer's Guide drawings by A Hepplewhite & Co, Cabinet-Maker in 1788, released and edited by his wife, Alice. Interestingly a design for a single chair relating strongly to this form was published by the famous north country firm of Gillow, which allows for some speculation as to whether he was apprenticed to or co-operated with them on this and perhaps other designs. There are some similarities in both their sketch and pattern books that would seem to indicate a relationship.

42 A pair of anthemion back armchairs

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A PAIR OF A N T H E M I O N BACK A R M C H A I R S

A pair of carved mahogany armchairs, the concave oval backs of pierced anthemion design within a carved laurel border, the out-swept arms with acanthus elbow supports headed with floral paterae, the uprights and seat rail also with laurel carving, supported on circular tapering and fluted legs headed by floral paterae above further acanthus decoration and terminating in stylised laurel toes.

English, circa 1775 Height: 36 in / 92 cm Width: 24 in / 61 cm Depth of seat: 19 in / 49 cm

E X H I B I T E D

On loan to Kenwood House, London until 2000.

L I T E R A T U R E

Christopher Claxton Stevens and Stewart Whittington, The Norman Adams Collection, 1983, p 72, pi 9 Herbert Cescinsky, The Old World House, 1924, vol II, p 249 Lanto Synge, Mallett Millenium, 1999, p 121, pi 134

This very finely executed pair of chairs is normally associated with the influence of

George Hepplewhite, whose fame is largely due to the publication shortly after his death of a volume of furniture designs entitled The Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer's Guide drawings by A Hepplewhite & Co, Cabinet-Maker in 1788, released and edited by his wife, Alice. Interestingly a design for a single chair relating strongly to this form was published by the famous north country firm of Gillow, which allows for some speculation as to whether he was apprenticed to or co-operated with them on this and perhaps other designs. There are some similarities in both their sketch and pattern books that would seem to indicate a relationship.

42 A pair of anthemion back armchairs

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i- '- - - "a is

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B A C C H A N A L I A N VASE Matthew Boulton

An important and rare urn shaped white marble vase, having a pierced removable lid, mounted with an acorn finial, inset in a gadrooned rim with a turned tapering cylindrical body mounted with classical figures including Mercury giving the infant Bacchus to Ino, beneath fruiting vines, with a pierced gadrooned base, raised on a circular laurel cast stem and square plinth.

English, circa 1 7 7 6 - 8 Height: 1574 in / 4 0 cm Width: 6Va in / 17 cm Base: S'A x 3/2 in / 9 x 9 cm

PROVENANCE

The Fermor-Hesketh collection The collection of Edward Sarofim

LITERATURE

Nicholas Goodison, Matthew Boulton's Bacchanalian Vase, Connoisseur, July 1 9 7 7 , pp 182-7

Based on the famous Gaeta antique vase created by the ancient Greek sculptor Salpion, Matthew Boulton adapted this form for use as a sumptuous and ornamental perfume burner. The original.

% \ m i m

Design from Boulton and Fothergill's Pattern Book /, p 171. Reproduced by courtesy of Birmingham City Archives.

Bacchanalian vase 4 5

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until its removal in 1805, acted as a baptismal font in the Cathedral at Gaeta, Italy, and is now in the National Museum in Naples.

The form may have been known to Boulton through bronze versions" made by Giacomo and Giovanni Zoffoli" working in Rome in the latter half of the 18th century. These vases were avidly collected by the English Grand Tourists, who included some of the firm's clients. Boulton adapted the form in his copy, omitting the handles and inserting in the frieze a figure of a boy blowing a horn and on the reverse substituted the tambourine playing maenad and youth with a draped female figure with an outstretched arm and a youth bearing a vase.

Boulton, always keen to exploit the seemingly insatiable demand for antique ornament typified by the vase, urged his friends, who included Josiah Wedgwood and John Flaxman, to send new patterns and models for inspiration. The firm's pattern book shows a design for this model'* (page 45) without the pierced cover, which may indicate that the original intention was to have been for the manufacture of ornamental vases, later adapted to a perfume burner form.

Between 1770 and 1775 Boulton supplied a vase of this model, along with other ornaments, to the Duke of Northumberland and this now remains at Syon House, Middlesex''. A further two were also offered by Boulton at Christie and Ansell's sale of 16 May 1778 with a reserve of £14 6s Od. The catalogue entry described the scene from Ovid's Metamorphosis as 'Mercury delivering the infant Bacchus to the care of Ino' and was intended to 'turn round upon a swivel for the convenience of viewing the bas relief.

A further example was invoiced to Lord Stormont for £16 16s Od as an 'ormoulu Bacchanalian vase' in 1783.

" Torrie collection, University of Edingburgh. Crtacomo Zoffol i c l 7 3 1 - 1 7 8 5 . Giovanni Zoffol i cl 745-1805 .

" Pattern Book J , p 171. N Goodison , Matthew Bnulton's Bacchanalian Vase^ Connoisseur, ]u\y 1977, ill p 182.

46 Bacchanalian vase

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Bacchanalian vase 47

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V E N U S C L O C K Matthew Boulton

A Venus vase clock, the vase with removable lid surmounted by an acorn finial and acanthus leaves above a window in the frieze with two rotating bands of numerals showing the time, the body of the vase with a Greek inscription and laurel engraving, on a fluted stem supported by a white pedestal with a medallion showing the death of Adonis, flanked by a distraught Venus and Cupid extinguishing the flame of love, with doves of peace and bow and quiver, all on a sienna marble stepped plinth.

English, circa 1771 The torch and possibly the medallion and sienna plinth later replacements. Height: ll'/i m I 2 9 cm Base: x (,VA in / 17.5 x 17.5 cm

PROVENANCE LA Hart Esq

LITERATURE Nicholas Goodison, Ormolu, the Work of Matthew Boulton, Phaidon, 1974, p 127, ill 4 4 Nicholas Goodison, Matthew Boulton's Allegorical Clocks, Connoisseur, February 1973, pp 106-111

Boulton's imaginative 'Venus' clock-case combined the popular vase form with classical figures sculpted in ormolu in direct imitation of French clocks. This model proved to be one of Boulton's most successful objects. The popularity of the model was secured when George III, who was fascinated by clocks, purchased an example in 1772 for £21 followed by one by the King of Spain in the same year.

The versatile design of the 'Venus' vase allowed it to be adapted to either a clock or perfume burner, modifying the lid and vase rim accordingly. The model first seems to have appeared when three examples were offered in the speculative sale of 1771 by Christie and Ansell and two of these examples were described as: 'An horizontal time piece representing Venus at the Tomb

of Adonis, in marble and or moulu, on the the pedestal is a medalian (sic) of his death, and on the urn is the following inscription:

Al Ai T a v K u 0 E J t E i a v

Ajtaj>tETO Ka^bg ' A'Swvig

The clock-case's allegorical subject shows Venus, the goddess of love mourning before the monument to her lover Adonis, whose death, when killed by a wild boar, is depicted on the medallion at the base. Venus is joined by a weeping Cupid who extinguishes the torch of life whilst his bow and quiver lie scattered at the steps to the monument. The strong neo-classical design of the clock may be compared closely to a sketch in the Pattern Book 2, p 171. As has already been mentioned, Boulton clearly saw the versatility of the design as he toyed with the idea of adapting the same figures of Venus and Cupid to adorn the model of an obelisk clock.

In keeping with the French taste, the horizontal movement of the clock is derived from contemporary French clock-makers with the time being indicated by two revolving silvered rings. John Whitehurst of Derby appears to have been responsible for supplying some of these movements. This is confirmed in a surviving letter of April 1772 between Boulton and Fothergill and John Whitehurst who chide him for cancelled orders due to his sloth in delivering movements ordered for the 'Venus' clock-cases.

Despite these delays the model was clearly a huge success as Josiah Wedgwood wrote to his partner in 1776 after a visit to Soho asking him to 'remember a poor Venus weeping over the tomb of Adonis - a time piece. How many would you imagine they have sold of the single group? 2 0 0 at 25 guineas each including the watch! ' Boulton, forever the publicist, probably exaggerated these figures to Wedgwood, however the demand for this model was clearly among the strongest for all his clocks.

Design from Bciulton and Fothergill's Pattern Book I, p 17 Reproduced by courtesy of Birmingham City Archives.

48 Venus clock

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VENUS P E R F U M E B U R N E R Matthew Boulton

A Venus vase perfume burner, the white marble plinth supporting an ormolu enriched pedestal with medallion showing the death of Adonis below an ormolu perfume burner enriched with foliate decoration, the pierced lid with acorn finial, the stepped plinth with a distraught Venus and tearful Cupid extinguishing the flame of love with two small doves of peace, one perched on a quiver of arrows.

English, circa 1771 Height: \ V/i m 1 1 9 cm Base: X 6% in / 17.5 x 17.5 cm

This beautiful vase was intended as a perfume burner and is the same model from which the 'Venus' clock was so successfully adapted. The pierced lid of the vase encloses a gilded copper interior that would have taken a small smouldering pastille or tablet of incense that would fill the interior with rich scent in imitation of the Ancient Romans. This particular example closely follows Christie and Ansell's description of two 'Venus' vases in the 1771 sale where they are described as:

'Venus at the Tomb of Adonis in statuary marble and or moulu, on the dye

of the pedestal is a medalian (sic) of his death, and upon it an urn lined with silver and perferated for essence, and may be occasionally used as a lamp.'

A perfume burner of this form was bought at the sale by one of Boulton's most loyal patrons, the Earl of Kerry, for £17 17s Od and another was also bought by either Lord or Lady Melbourne for £21. The design appears to have carried on being produced as late as 1780 when the Earl of Chesterfield bought '1 Venus or moulu essence vase white marble no 108'.

Venus perfume burner 51

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r .

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E M P E R O R C A N D L E VASES Matthew Boulton

A rare pair of ormolu and blue john

candle vases, the classical urn

decorated with a guilloche band and

ribbon bows joined by laurel swags,

the socle with emerging foliage with a

laurel band, supported on a blue john

pedestal cornered with ram's heads,

with further laurel swags and ribbon

bows surrounding a medallion of a

Roman emperor on each side, all on a

stepped base.

English, circa 1780

Height: 10'/4in/27cm

Base: 4!/2 x 4/2 in / 11.5 x 11.5 cm

The design of these candle vases may be

related to Boulton and Fothergill's design

that shows a plinth with the corners

headed by ram's heads linking a

suspended empty ribbon tied cartouche.

The upper vase varies from the drawing as

it dispenses with the finial, arms and

swags, perhaps in order to display to

greater effect the rare beautiful variegated

blue john possibly from the same piece as

the pair of 'Weston Park' model perfume

burners from this collection (see page 62).

The cartouches are ornamented with

medallions of Roman Emperors inspired

from ancient carved gemstone examples

and later popularised by James Tassie in

the latter half of the 18th century for the

Grand Tour market.

O

i .

Design from Boulton and Fothergill's Pattern Book I, p 171.

Reproduced by courtesy of Birmingham City Archives.

Emperor candle vases 53

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54 Emperor candle vases

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Emperor candle vases 55

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• A L A R G E PAIR OF BLUE J O H N PERFUME BURNERS Matthew Boulton

A large pair of ormolu mounted perfume

burners, the ovoid bodies in beautifully

veined blue john, surmounted by a pierced

lid with pineapple finial, hung with wreaths

and issuing from acanthus leaves, with

scrolled acanthus handles at either side,

raised on fluted plinth with square base.

English, circa 1770

Height: 12 in / 30.05 cm

Width: 5% in / 14.5 cm

Depth: 3/2 in / 9 cm

These exceedingly handsome blue john

mounted vase perfume burners incorporate

two magnificent specimens of blue john with

rich purple veining. The specimens would have

come from Castleton in Derbyshire an area

then rich with decorative stone. As early as

1768, whilst looking for rich materials to

mount as objects, Boulton wrote to his friend,

John Whitehurst, a local clock-maker revealing

he had found a use for 'Blew John' but only

'that sort which is proper for turning into

vases'. This illustrates the care with which

Boulton selected individual examples of the

fluorspar before having them mounted.

These vases relate directly to a sketch in

Boulton's pattern book and are a successful

variation on the series of garniture vases.

Design from Boulton and Fothcrgill's Pattern Rook /, p 170.

Reproduced by courtesy of Birmingham City Archives.

A large pair of blue john perfume burners 57

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MINERVA C L O C K Matthew Boulton

A magnificent ormolu and white marble table clock, the stepped plinth with pierced foliate frieze cornered with satyr masks, the pedestal with circular white enamelled dial, supporting a classical vase with an oval medallion depicting Jupiter and Juno, supported by a large scale figure of Minerva in armoured dress and enriched foliate helmet, carrying a spear in her right hand and a luxurious gold cape, partially obscuring a small owl, the shield of Medusa at her feet raised on books, opposite a seated boy holding a scroll with a Latin motto, the back of the stand with two small classical vases.

English, circa 1771 Height: 18/2 i n / 4 7 cm Width: 12/2 i n / 3 2 cm Depth: 8/2 i n / 2 1 . 5 cm

This magnificent and monumental clock remains one of the most ambitious pieces produced in Boulton's workshops. It was the first in a series of allegorical clock cases with which Boulton intended to rival the French clocks of the period. Boulton was keen for his pieces to appeal to a domestic

market as well as his export market and engaged the help of the Earl of Warwick and Moushin Pouskin, the Russian Ambassador, in his aims.

The model for the 'Minerva' clock, would seem to have first appeared in 1771 when Lord Cathcart, the British Ambassador at the court of St Petersburg, was petitioned in a letter'" by Boulton to help with the introduction of 'British products amongst foreigners', particularly his 'ornamental furniture in metals ... from that art of gilding called Or Moulu'. Boulton had a few weeks earlier sent Lord Cathcart a selection of his best ormolu mounted objects and in his letter mentions 'three clocks now making at the manufactory of Boulton and Fothergill at Soho'. Two of the clocks were the famous 'sidereal' and 'geographical' clocks and the third, the Minerva clock, was described as follows:

'An 8 day repeating clock with an allegorical case representing Minerva pointing to the dial with one hand and with the other she is unveiling a votive case on which is enchased upon an oval medallion a representation of prudence making a libation at the shrine of time whilst a boy

on the other side seems reading the following inscription (which is engrav'd upon a scroll he holds in his hand) Breve et irraparabile tempus Omnibus est vita; sed famham extendere factis Hoc virtutis opus: all gilt in or moulu' (sic).

Only two other examples of this clock are known. One is now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York" and the other remains in a private collection''. A sketchy design for the 'Minerva' clock case survives in the Boulton papers and clearly shows the figure of Minerva and the seated boy placed on either side of the urn. The design for the large stand that the clock appears to sit on was probably never executed possibly because it was deemed too distracting or expensive.

Of the possible three clocks, one had been put up for sale in April 1771 at Christie and Ansell, however the seated boy held an inscription by Gay written in English rather than Latin. The clock was sold to a Mr Morgan for the huge sum of £173 5s Od. The following April a further 'Minerva' clock, possibly this very example, was put up for sale at Christie and Ansell but remained unsold. It is quite

Skcrch from Boulton and Hothergill's Pattern Ihxtk /, p 7 6 .

Rcproduccd by courtesy of Birmingham C:ity Archives.

Minerva clock 59

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conceivable that the clock was offered again in May 1778 when it was fully described as;

'An emblematic clock case representing Minerva as uncovering a votive vase, with one hand, on which is a has relief of Prudence making a libation to time, with the other hand she points to the dial, whilst the genii on the other side seems contemplating the remarkable passage from Virgil, Lib X: 'Breve et irreparabile tempus omnibus est vita: Sed famam extendere factis hoc virtutis opus.'

The Latin quotation on the boy's scroll of the present clock is identical to that described on the clock in the 1778 catalogue, whilst the example mentioned to Lord Cathcart is a variation. A further clock was recorded in Boulton and Fothergill's records in 1782 said to be of marble with gilt has not so far come to light.

The symbolism of the clock's figures follows the moral tales associated with the passing of time, fame, beauty and fortune. This form of memento mori had a long tradition in European culture and was the subject often alluded to in paintings and sculpture from the Renaissance onwards. Here Minerva, the goddess of Wisdom, is seen to unveil the salutary shrouded monument and points to the fleeting time as she instructs the seated child on the transience of time.

' M a t t h e w B o u l t o n t o L o r d C a t h c a r t , St Petersburg ,

3 0 t h O c t o b e r 1 7 7 1 , B o u l t o n papers in the B i r m i n g h a m

R e f e r e n c e Library .

T h e M e t r o p o l i t a n M u s e u m , N e w Y o r k , 1 9 9 3 . 4 8 9

• cf N G o o d i s o n , Matthew Boulton s Minerva, Burlington

Magazine, junt 1 9 9 6 , p 3 9 9 ill 6 6 .

60 Minerva clock

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4

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BLUE J O H N P E R F U M E B U R N E R S Matthew Boulton

A PAIR O F B L U E J O H N P E R F U M E

B U R N E R S

A pair of ormolu and blue john perfume burners, the urn-shaped vases with a bold guilloche band below foliate pierced lids headed by acorn finials and joined by foliate swan's neck handles, with fluted stems supported on a circular blue john base.

English, circa 1771 Height: 9 in / 2 3 cm Width: 4/2 in / 11 .5 cm Diameter of base: 3/2 in / 9 cm

These vases are among Boulton and Fothergills' finest work and the incredible

quality of the particularly pale purple bluejohn is very rare in their oeuvre. Great attention has been paid to the finely chased ormolu giving a superb overall effect. The form of this pair is related to the 'Weston Park' model (see below), however the blue john replaces the white marble base whilst the ormolu paterae and swagged husks are also omitted in preference for showing off the extraordinary hue of the stone. The emphasis is clearly placed on the importance and beauty of these exceptional specimens of Derbyshire fluorspar. Judging by the extraordinary quality of this pair one can speculate that they formed part of a special private commission aside from the sales at Christie and Ansell.

A B L U E J O H N P E R F U M E B U R N E R

An ormolu and blue john perfume burner, the urn-shaped vase with a bold guilloche band below a foliate pierced lid headed by an acorn finial and joined by foliate swan's neck handles, with fluted stem supported on a white marble plinth with oval paterae and foliate swags, on a circular base.

English, circa 1771 Height: 9 in / 2 3 cm Width: 3'/4 in / 9 .5 cm Diameter of base: 3/2 in / 9 cm

m ^ - r i n

m-mm

Blue john perfume burners 6 3

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A WINGED FIGURE C A N D E L A B R U M Matthew Boulton

A magnificent candelabrum in the form of a

fluorspar urn surmounted by a foliate cast

top with pineapple finial, with two scrolled

arms issuing from winged female caryatids

at either side supporting fluted sconces, the

urn with a band of guilloche around the

centre and raised on fluted and gadrooned

stem with white marble base.

English, circa 1772

Height: XSVi 'm! 2,9 cm

Width: 15y4 in /40 cm

Base: 4'/ x 4'/ in / 12 x 12 cm

This 'Winged Figure' candle vase of

unusual pale Derbyshire spar conforms

closely to a sketch in Boulton and

Fothergill's Pattern Book I. This model

proved to be one of Boulton's most

popular designs and is first mentioned in

the Soho records when the Earl of

Stamford bought 'the winged vase' on a

visit there in 1772 for £12 12s Od. Boulton

experimented in using blue john, white

Derbyshire marble and even opaque glass

as alternative bodies for the vases. The

form was designed so that the vases could

easily be adapted to be manufactured as a

vase, a perfume burner or a candelabrum.

Further examples of this model were sold

to The Prince of Wales, M r Robert Child

for Osterley and to the Duke of

Northumberland, amongst others.

Design from Boulton and Fothergill's Pattern Hook /, p 156.

Reproduced by courtesy of Birmingham City Archives.

64 A winged figure candelabrum

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A PAIR OF O R M O L U P E R F U M E B U R N E R S Matthew Boulton

A rare pair of tripod based perfume burners, each ovoid body with guiiioche banding supported by three winged female caryatids on claw feet, each dressed with stylised jewelled necklace supporting chains carrying a foliate moulded burner, on a stepped triangular plinth centred with a foliate finial.

English, circa 1775 Height: 8/2 i n / 2 1 . 5 c m Base: 4% x 4'/i in / 11.5 x 11.5 cm

These very well chased examples of perfume burners, or cassolettes, follow the examples lent to Boulton by one of his most important patrons, the leader of

fashion, Mrs Montagu (1720-1800) . Mrs Montagu amusingly urged for the

return of her pair that Boulton had been studying 'for my friends reproach me that I do not regale their noses with fine odours after entertaining their palates with soup and ragouts. The cassolettes used to make their entry with dessert and chase away the smell of dinner'.

The tripod form is based on the then recently excavated Roman artefacts found at Herculaneum and Pompeii. The altar bases were typically of this form and Boulton appropriately adapted them as perfume burners. This pair is particularly rare as the original oil burners suspended by chains still survive.

A pair of ormolu perfume burners 67

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A PAIR OF W H I T E M A R B L E P E R F U M E B U R N E R S Matthew Boulton

A pair of white marble and ormolu mounted perfume burners with foliate cast lids, the bodies hung with wreaths and with guilloche cast scroll handles on either side terminating in ram's masks, raised on fluted stem and fluted square base with guilloche edge.

English, circa 1776-8 Height: 9Vi in / 24 cm Width: 5 in / 3 cm Base: 3/2 x 3/2 in / 9 x 9 cm

These fine ormolu mounted perfume burners with bacchic ram's head handles and

festooned laurel swags closely correspond to examples made with either blue john or white marble bodies. Boulton's Pattern Book illustrates a very similar model with the body colured to represent blue john, however the unblemished surface of white Derbyshire marble was also employed.

A similar pair, formerly in the collection of Edward Sarofim, has spreading marble feet rather than the richly fluted bases of this pair. A further comparable pair with blue john bodies was almost certainly commissioned by Sir Edward Knatchbull for Mersham-Le-Hatch, Kent.

Design from Boulton and Fothergill's Pattern Book I, p 170. Reproduced by courtesy of Birmingham City Archives.

68 A pair of white marble perfume burners

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C L E O P A T R A VASES Matthew Boulton

A pai r o f o r m o l u m o u n t e d v a s e - s h a p e d

c a n d l e s t i c k s , t h e u p p e r p a r t o f p a l e

c o l o u r e d b l u e j o h n h u n g w i t h r o s e t t e s a n d

s w a g s a n d o n sp i ra l s t e m s , r a i s e d o n s q u a r e

p e d e s t a l s o f a v e n t u r i n e w i t h G r e e k k e y

p a t t e r n a t t h e t o p a n d s t a n d i n g o n s t e p p e d

b a s e s w i t h ba l l f ee t .

E n g l i s h , circa 1 7 7 1

H e i g h t : 8/2 in / 2 2 c m

B a s e : 4Yi x 4/2 in / 1 0 . 5 x 1 0 . 5 c m

T h e s e f o r m s o f b l u e j o h n a n d o r m o l u

c a n d l e s t i c k s w i t h d e c o r a t e d g l a s s p a n e l s

h a v e b e e n ident i f ied b y N i c h o l a s G o o d i s o n

a s ' C l e o p a t r a ' v a s e s . T h e i r s m a l l s ize m a d e

t h e m ideal f o r use o n a s ide t a b l e o r a s p a r t

o f a g a r n i t u r e o n a c h i m n e y p i e c e a n d

sa t i s f ied t h e c r a z e f o r v a s e o r n a m e n t s .

It is u n c l e a r h o w th i s m o d e l w a s s o

n a m e d b u t a p a i r o f th i s d e s c r i p t i o n w a s

s u p p l i e d t o t h e M a r q u e s s o f R o c k i n g h a m in

1 7 7 0 f o r £ 5 1 0 s Od a n d in t h e s a m e y e a r

B o u l t o n t r i ed t o sell a n o t h e r p a i r t o t h e

D o w a g e r P r i n c e s s o f W a l e s . T h e y a p p e a r t o

h a v e b e e n a p o p u l a r m o d e l a s B o u l t o n

i n c l u d e d s e v e r a l p a i r s in t h e C h r i s t i e a n d

A n s e l l sa le o f 1 7 7 1 . E x a m p l e s d e c o r a t e d

w i t h m e d a l l i o n s a r e k n o w n f r o m a p a i r

s u p p l i e d t o B a r o n G r o t e in t h e s a m e year .

Design from Boulton and Fothergill's Pattern Book /, p 171. Reproduced by courtesy of Birmingham City Archives.

C l e o p a t r a v a s e s 7 1

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1 URANIA WATCH STAND Matthew Boulton

A rare w a t c h s tand, the white m a r b l e plinth

support ing a m a r b l e obel isk banded in

o r m o l u decorated with a small enamel led

panel i l lustrating EQUATION DE JOUR NATURELS, b e l o w a small gold p o c k e t

watch by B e n j a m i n Vul l iamy with white

enamel led face and R o m a n numerals , with

an engraved c o r o n e t and initial E on

reverse, held by a pat inated bronze figure o f

U r a n i a , with outs tretched arms and a g lobe

at her feet.

English, circa 1778 Height : 1 5 ' / 4 i n / 4 0 c m

W i d t h : 9/2 in / 2 4 cm

D e p t h : 5/4 in / 1 4 . 5 cm

T h e obel isk, with its c o n n o t a t i o n s o f the

Ancients , appealed to Boul ton and as early

as 1 7 6 8 he is k n o w n to have acquired an

e x a m p l e f rom a Derbyshire lapidary. T h e

obelisk was a favourite form for displaying

the beauty o f unusual stones and minerals ,

particularly blue john o f which numerous

early 19th century obelisk and small c o l u m n

examples exist . Boul ton enhanced the bronze

figure o f Urania , the M u s e o f Astronomy,

placing her with an outstretched a r m ready

to hold a watch in front o f the obel isk.

T h e present e x a m p l e could possibly be

either lot 9 5 or lot 1 2 2 which were both

unsold at £ 1 7 7s Od in the 1 7 7 8 Christ ie

and Ansell sale. T h i s model w a s described

in the ca ta logue as 'An elegant figure o f

Urania in bronze , holding a t imepiece

against an obel isk o f s tatuary marble , in the

pedestal o f which is an enamel led tablet

shewing the equat ion o f t ime ' . A m o n g

Boul ton 's sketches are included eleven

designs for ' Jewel S tands ' or watch stands

which use the obel isk as the principal

e lement . S o m e designs include classical

figures even re-using the principal figures

f rom other designs, for e x a m p l e those f rom

the 'Venus ' c l o c k . T h e s e luxur ious o b j e c t s

would have served as exquis i te sculptural

o r n a m e n t s or as e l a b o r a t e ca lendar c locks .

Interestingly B o u l t o n m a y have intended

these o b j e c t s for the foreign m a r k e t as a

sketch for an obel isk f rom the Pattern Book is inscribed Empress of Russia, possibly indicat ing it w a s either a special

c o m m i s s i o n or expressly for the Russ ian

m a r k e t . T h i s idea may be pursued as the

enamel ca lendar for this watch stand is

inscribed in French , either indicat ing its

dest inat ion for sale or a fash ionable conce i t

for the English market . In any event Boulton

chose to highlight the architectural details o f

the watch stand in o r m o l u , perhaps at the

behest o f his client, whilst leaving the figure

of Urania , the M u s e o f Astronomy, in

bronze as she stands holding her outstetched

arm ready to hold the watch .

T H E W A T C H

Fascinat ingly the associated watch is a

rediscovered R o y a l w a t c h . T h e w a t c h is by

B e n j a m i n Vul l iamy w h o occas iona l ly

supplied the m o v e m e n t s to some o f the

c lock cases that Boul ton sold, in part icular

one o f the three ' M i n e r v a ' c l o c k s (see page

5 8 ) . Vull iamy, the c l o c k m a k e r to the King ,

supplied this w a t c h to Princess El izabeth ,

one o f the daughters o f G e o r g e III. Princess

El izabeth 's c r o w n e d cypher o f an E appears

on the watch case but , m o r e conclusively,

the c o d e d serial n u m b e r S.X.S n o w tells us

that it w a s supplied to the Princess by

Vul l iamy in 1 7 9 4 , at a cos t o f 3 5 guineas

and this entry appears in his records

preserved at the R o y a l H o r o l o g i c a l Society.

Designs from Boulton and ForhergilPs Pattern Book /, p 77 (top) and p IS. Reproduced by courtesy of Birminjihani City Archives.

7 2 Urania watch stand

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J < I ]

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74 Urania watch stand

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Urania watch stand 75

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A PAIR OF CANDELABRA Attributed to Matthew Boulton

A pair of lion's mask two-branch candelabra attributed to Matthew Boulton following a design by Pierre Gouthiere (1732-1814), the foliate fluted and circular base supporting a square tapering pedestal above claw feet and headed with lion's masks above drapery swags, the candle arms of classical square pattern with foliate shoots supporting drip-pans and fluted socles centred with a classical urn with further swags and acorn finial.

English, circa 1771 Height: 18 in / 46 cm Width: 12 in / 30.5 cm Diameter of base: 6/4 in / 16 cm

In 1765 Boulton, perhaps whilst researching techniques of gilding, visited Paris and showed his designs to his friend

and French counterpart Frangois-Thomas Germain. One of these designs derived more from the transitional taste typified by the work of the great neo-classical French designer Delafosse, in the 'goiat grec'. This drawing of a single candlestick, which survives in the Pattern Book, stands out from Boulton's lighter neo-classical designs.

Whatever the source Boulton mistakenly sent at the end of 1771 a pair of Myon-faced candlesticks' to the Earl of Kerry at a cost of £18 18s Od. Later that year the Earl of Sefton bought a pair of 'lion-faced' candlesticks at the Christie and Ansell sale and Goodison suggests these may have been the same pair returned by the Earl of Kerry.

Other examples were bought by Mrs Montagu in 1772 and Lord Arundell possibly acquired a pair as late as 1777 when an estimate was provided for making them.

Design f rom Boulton and FothergilPs Pattern Baok I, p 41. Reproduced by courtesy of Birmingham C^ity Archives.

76 A pair of candelabra

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79

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A F R E N C H C L O C K Mounts after Matthew Boulton

A white marble and ormolu French clock with mounts after M a t t h e w Boulton, the stepped plinth with a fluted classical column supporting an ormolu vase enriched with finely cast vines o f grapes, with satyr handles with entwined horns, adorned with a reclining putti embracing a winged dove and holding an arrow to show the time hand, the plinth with a tearful Venus and a small Cupid holding an oval medallion with an extinguished torch entwined by garlands.

French, 19th century Height: 14'A in / 3 7 . 5 cm Base: 7% x 7% in / 19 .5 x 19 .5 cm

This e laborate 19th century c lock illustrates how the influence o f Boulton's designs carried on after the closure o f the Birmingham business. The composi t ion that includes the figures o f the weeping Venus and seated putto holding the medall ion depicting the death o f Adonis is clearly derived from those found on the Venus vase model.

It is known that some of the residual mounts were sold after the closure o f the works and it is perhaps from these elements that the present mounts are cast.

8 0 A French clock

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The Age of Matthew Bouhon - Masterpieces of Neo-Classicism

T W O O R N A M E N T A L CLOCKS BY V U L L I A M Y By Roger Smith

These two clocks show clearly how the style of ornamental clocks produced by the leading London clockmakers, Vulliamy & Son of 74 Pall Mall, developed during the late 18th century in response to changes in fashionable taste.

It was in the early 1780's that Benjamin Vulliamy (1747-1811), King's Clockmaker and junior partner in the family firm, began to develop a range of ornamental clocks to challenge the dominance of French pieces in Society drawing rooms. Although he would certainly have known of Matthew Boulton's clocks with allegorical figures in ormolu, produced in the 1760's-70's, Vulliamy's immediate inspiration probably came from contemporary French clocks. These occasionally used biscuit porcelain figures instead of ormolu and Vulliamy seems to have preferred the cooler neo-classicism of the former.

In this ambitious project, he enlisted the help of William Duesbury I and II, successive owners of the Derby porcelain factory, to try and produce large biscuit figures to rival the productions of Sevres.

Although Vulliamy himself would have been responsible for the overall design of these clocks, he employed highly talented young sculptors to model the figures. His practice was to use prize-winners from the Royal Academy Schools who, he evidently hoped, had acquired not only the necessary skills but also an understanding of the latest neo-classical taste. Once modelled, the figures were sent to Derby to be reproduced in biscuit porcelain for Vulliamy's sole use. Surviving correspondence between Vulliamy and the Derby factory shows the serious technical problems which the factory faced in producing figures of the precise size, colour and quality demanded by Vulliamy. As a result, production of the larger figures was slow and they were expensive: Vulliamy was charged 5 guineas each (later increased to 6 guineas) for them.

Vulliamy's first designs for clocks with Derby biscuit figures were relatively simple, but by the mid-1780's he had developed some larger compositions using three biscuit figures (two large and one small). Only five or six of these large clocks are

known for certain to have been made: one, apparently dated 1787, was sold from the collection of the Duke of Buckingham at Stowe in 1848 (fate unknown, but its satinwood pedestal survives)"; two more (Nos 170 and 178), dating from around 1788, are in the Royal Collection; a fourth (No 236), dates from about 1791; while the fifth, dated 1785, is the clock in this exhibition. A sixth clock, seen by Sophie von La Roche when she visited Vulliamy's shop in September 1786, may possibly have been the latter, though she described the seated female figure as reading a book^\ Except for No 178, all seem to have used the same basic composition of figures, forming an allegory of time.

The present clock has been described by Timothy Clifford". The date 1785, the fact that the movement is unnumbered" and the marble scroll inscribed, Design'd & Executed by B. Vulliamy (etc.), would all suggest that this was the earliest of the group to be completed. The large figures of a winged Genius and Urania holding an armillary sphere (symbolic of astronomy).

Left: Benjamin Vulliamy, circa 1785, by an unknown artist. Reproduced by courtesty of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers Collection UK/Bridgeman Art Library. Right: Detail from the Astronomy clock (see page 86).

82

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The Age of Matthew Boulton - Masterpieces of Neo-Classicism

were probably inspired by engravings in Montfaucon's 'Antiquity Explained', a favourite design source for Benjamin Vulliamy, and modelled by John Deare (1759-98), Gold Medallist at the Royal Academy Schools in 1780.

It was not just the biscuit figures of these clocks which were contracted out. As was normal in the London clockmaking trade, most of the various elements, including the movement, would have been made to Vulliamy's precise specifications by independent specialists, with only final adjustments being carried out in Vulliamy's own workshop. The names of these specialist craftsmen are largely unknown at this date, but the supplier of the marble components of the present clock has, unusually, inscribed his monogram ID on the back of the stepped base. This is almost certainly the mark of the statuary and mason, J Day, of Brewers Row, Westminster, who emerges as Vulliamy's main supplier of marble for clock cases etc, when the firm's earliest surviving manufacturing records begin in 1797. In his use of outworkers, Vulliamy's practice was similar to that of his French competitors, the Parisian marchands-merciers. However, unlike many of their French counterparts, Vulliamy's clocks have movements of quality commensurate with their cases.

The single-train movement of the present clock is a good example of the high quality workmanship found in Vulliamy's products. With its long, narrow plates, it was clearly made specially to fit the marble column of the case. Characteristic Vulliamy features include the use of a half dead-beat escapement, (more accurate but more difficult to make than the verge or anchor escapements commonly found in English bracket and table clocks of this period); and the small square for 'rise and fall' adjustment of the pendulum, above 12 o'clock on the dial, (neatly concealed on this clock by a removable ormolu rosette).

The original price of this clock is unknown but it would have been expensive even for Vulliamy, (who was notoriously costly), and certainly well in excess of the 100 guineas which he is known to have

charged for clocks with a single large Derby biscuit figure.

The second Vulliamy clock in the exhibition provides an interesting comparison. It is an example of his more modest mantel clocks with bronze or ormolu mounts in the new Empire or proto-Regency taste, which gradually supplanted the purer neo-classicism of the clocks with Derby figures from the late 1790's. It was sold to the Dowager Countess of Cork and Orrery on 16th June 1802, for 36 guineas. The white marble case is unusually shallow from front to back and shows no provision for a pendulum or 'rise and fall' adjustment (see previous clock), since it is a rare example of a Vulliamy clock-case made for a 'watch', i.e. a movement controlled by a balance and spring. The movement was apparently not included in the original sale and the present movement and hands are later replacements.

Most of Vulliamy's clocks in the new taste were mounted with 'Roman' lions and eagles, but the design of this case, which was also used for two pendulum clocks, is an early example of his work in the Ancient Egyptian style, which had become fashionable following Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and Nelson's victory at the Nile in 1798. At this date, Vulliamy's use of the style was less academic than it became later, when he could draw on the scholarly work of Vivant Denon. However, he evidently remained happy with the bronze sphinxes, later using the same model on a grand inkstand which was sold to the Prince of Wales in 1810".

Fortunately, the record of manufacture of this clock-case still survives", and provides not only the names of the craftsmen and suppliers involved but also their charges. They were Vulliamy's usual team of independent outworkers at this date, including Day for the marble (£6 6s Od), Houle for casting and chasing the sphinxes (£4 Os Od), and Brown for engraving the decorative metal plates (£2 7s Od). The medallions on the base, which represent three of the four Seasons, were supplied by Wedgwood at 6 shillings each.

T h e reverse side o f the Astronomy clock (see page 86 ) .

Left: A detail from the Sphinx Mante l c lock (see page 9 0 ) .

For these c locks , see: T Clifford 'Vulliamy clocks and

British scultpure' , Apollo, O c t o b e r 1 9 9 0 , pp 2 2 6 - 3 7 ; also

R Smith 'Benjamin Vulliamy's painted satinwood clocks

and pedestals, Apollo, June 1 9 9 5 , pp 2 5 - 3 3 .

Sold Christie's, 13 N o v e m b e r 1 9 9 7 , lot 104 .

Her diary entry is reprinted by B Hutchinson in

Antiquarian Horology, 2 0 / 1 , [Spring 1 9 9 2 ] , pp 6 6 - 6 8 .

Vulliamy clocks were engraved with their production

number from circa 1 7 8 8 .

85

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AN A S T R O N O M Y C L O C K By Benjamin VuUiamy

A rare white marble and Derby biscuit porcelain Astronomy clock by Benjamin Vulliamy (1747-1811) , the stepped semi-elliptical plinth supporting a central fluted pedestal mounted with a circular enamel dial with Roman numerals within a beaded bezel, on a square plinth signed Design'd by B. Vulliamy LONDON 1785, flanked on the left by a large figure of a winged Genius beside an extremely ornate ormolu mounted stylised tree trunk supporting two small books and a scroll reading Design'd and Executed by B. VULLIAMY Clock and Watch Maker to His MAJESTY, with Urania seated on the right holding an armiiiary sphere, a large astronomical telescope behind and a small naked child in front holding a sextant in his left hand. The marble inscribed twice with monogram ID.

English, circa 1785 Height: 19 i n / 4 8 cm Width: 31 in / 79 cm Depth: 11 in / 28 cm

86 An Astronomy clock

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An Astronomy clock 87

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88 An Astronomy clock

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A SPHINX M A N T E L C L O C K By Benjamin Vulliamy

A Regency mantel clock by Vulliamy & Son, the face with Roman numerals within a circular gilt metal beaded border inset into a white marble stepped case flanked by two bronze sphinxes supported on a black marble shelf, the frieze inset with circular Wedgwood plaques representing Spring, Harvest and Winter in the form of three cupids enacting their season and separated by rectangular brass engraved panels with concave ends.

English, circa 1800 Height: 9/2 in / 24 cm Width: 18 '/2in/47cm Depth: VA in / 7 cm

P R O V E N A N C E Acquired from Vulliamy by the Dowager Countess of Cork and Orrery on 16th June 1802 for 36 guineas

90 A Sphinx mantel clock

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A Sphinx mantel clock 91

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92 A Sphinx mantel clock

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A Sphinx mantel clock 93

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A B O N H E U R DU J O U R Attributed to John McLean

A Regency ormolu mounted rosewood bonheur du jour attributed to J o h n M c L e a n ( 1 7 7 0 - 1 8 2 5 ) , the raised superstructure with pierced galleried shelf with ring-turned finials supported on turned columns joined by a grille, above a pair of panelled and beaded drawers, the hinged fall-front writing surface opening to reveal an inset tooled leather panel, above a single panelled beaded drawer in the frieze flanked by striated panels on the front and side, all supported on ring-turned tapering legs joined by a shaped shelf, on turned feet terminating in brass castors.

English, circa 1 8 1 0 Height: 4 4 in / 1 1 2 cm Width: 3 0 in / 7 6 cm Depth closed: 18 in / 4 6 cm Depth open: 2 7 in / 6 9 cm

L I T E R A T U R E

Simon Redburn, John McLean & Son, Furniture History Society, 1 9 7 8 , vol X I V

This fine quality bonheur du jour with its excellent quality gilt metal mounts and rich rosewood veneers falls into a style of furniture made by the London firm of J o h n M c L e a n &C Son whose workshop operated from premises at 5 5 Upper Marylebone Street in the early part o f the 19th century. M u c h influenced by the drawings o f T h o m a s Sheraton, M c L e a n subscribed to Sheraton's Cabinet Dictionary in 1 8 0 3 and his name appears in the list of master cabinet-makers with a small work table described by Sheraton: 'the design ... was taken from one executed by M r M ' L e a n in Mary- le-bone street, near Tottenham court road, who finishes these small articles in the neatest manner ' .

He seems also to have favoured the taste for French design and incorporates this into much of his furniture with the use of gilt metal that harks back to the work of great French ebenistes such as Weisweiller and Reisener in the mid 18th century. Interestingly his trade card incorporates the description elegant PARISIAN FURNITURE and in various advertisements placed in The Times he also includes these words. For all this there appears only one set of documented accounts for general furnishings, supplied to the 5th Earl of Jersey for Middleton Park, Oxfordshire , and for his house in Berkeley Square. There is, however, a stamped table at Saltram in Devon and another at Grimsthorpe in Lincolnshire. Other furniture carrying his idiosyncratic style can be seen at Harewood in Yorkshire and a fine large writing desk at Culzean Castle, Ayrshire.

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A S E C R E T A I R E C A B I N E T By John McLean

A Regency ormolu mounted secretaire cabinet by John McLean (1770-1825), the cabinet with a single drawer in the frieze with a panelled front and lion's head ring pull handles, decorated with garlands of flowers within an egg-and-dart border, opening to reveal a writing surface in front of a series of small drawers and pigeon-holes, above two panelled cupboard doors with egg-and-dart moulding flanked by further drops of gilt metal flowers headed by lion's masks below classical terms, supporting a superstructure of bookshelves with inset mirrored glass back, pierced geometric

brass sides below a pierced gallery, all supported on turned parcel gilt feet.

English, circa 1810 Height: 59 in / 150 cm Width: 37 in / 94 cm Depth: UYi in / 37 cm

In the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum there is another secretaire of this model, also in rosewood and with the same gilt brass mounts - only the finials vary -which bears the trade label of John McLean of Upper Marylebone Street. (See The Dictionary of English Furniture, vol I, p 59, fig 82)

98 A secretaire cabinet

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A W R I T I N G TABLE Attributed to John McLean

A Regency ormolu mounted rosewood writing table attributed to J o h n M c L e a n ( 1 7 7 0 - 1 8 2 5 ) , the leather writing surface with gilt tooling within a crossbanded border with gilt metal lattice gallery on three sides, above two drawers in the frieze with lion's head ring pull handles, the corners with curved striated panels, on lyre end supports with splayed feet with inset striated gilt metal panels, joined by a turned stretcher.

I

English, circa 1810 Height: 28/4 in / 7 3 cm Length: 4 2 in / 1 0 7 cm Depth: 2 7 in / 6 9 cm

A writing table 101

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A C O L L E C T O R ' S CABINET Attributed to James Newton

A Regency Egyptian style parcel gilt rosewood and satinwood collector's cabinet-on-stand attributed to James Newton (1760-1829), the cabinet with a gilt metal gallery above a foliate Vutruvian scrolled frieze separated by ebonised Egyptian masks on square gilt gesso panels, above two rosewood doors banded with applied giltwood, cornered by ebonised lion's masks surrounding a satinwood panel crossbanded in tulipwood with boxwood and ebony stringing, opening to reveal a series of graduated long drawers in rosewood with satinwood crossbanding and turned ivory handles, the reverse of the doors also with satinwood panels crossbanded with tulipwood with boxwood

and ebony stringing, the stand with a single long drawer in the frieze with bronze lion's head ring pull handles and satinwood panels, the carved legs with straight and twisted fluting headed by ebonised Egyptian masks and terminating in lion's paw feet.

English, circa 1810 Height: 64 in / 163 cm Width: 42/2 in / 108 cm Depth: 19 i n / 4 8 cm

L I T E R A T U R E

James Newton, Giles Ellwood, Furniture History 1995, vol XXXI, fig 9-13. Dictionary of English Makers 1660-1840, Furniture History Society, 1986

A collector's cabinet 103

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This important cabinet is closely related to

two cabinets at Burghley House, Lincolnshire,

designed by James Newton (1760-1829) and

commissioned by Henry, 10th Earl and 1st

Marquis of Exeter. Both these cabinets have

similar Egyptian stylised mounts and classical

decoration, are raised on stands and

incorporate the richest of veneers.

Although no early provenance is yet

known for this cabinet it is of an outstanding

quality, incorporating the most expensive and

luxurious veneers, particularly noticeable in

the intense figuring of the satinwood

panelled doors and rich rosewood fronts to

the inside drawers. Much of James Newton's

work carries this particular style with an

emphasis on contrasting woods combined

with superb craftsmanship. His list of clients

at the pinnacle of his career is impressive, led

primarily by his commissions for Burghley

House which totalled almost £8,000 and

lasted nearly thirty-one years. Other notable

clients included Sir Gilbert Heathcote (1797-

1803), Normanton Park, Rutland, and

Viscount Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey (1804-6),

for which there exists considerable

correspondance.

104 A collector's cabinet

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A S A R C O P H A G U S I N K S T A N D

An exceptional and rare Regency amboyna wood sarcophagus inkstand, the shaped top inset with a brass and ebony tablet inlaid with the Order of the Garter, opening to reveal two quill trays and two ormolu mounted glass inkwells, the reverse of the lid profusely inlaid with brass showing a vase of flowers flanked by two exotic birds among trailing foliage, on gold fluted classical end supports with further gilded brass foliate inlay terminating in large scale lion's paw feet, all on an ebony plinth inlaid also with birds, a vase and foliage and with a border of inlaid geometric brass banding.

English, circa 1810 Height: 8% in / 22 cm Width: 1 6 ' / 4 m / 4 2 . 5 cm Depth: VVi in / 19 cm

The shape of this magnificent inkstand derives from the great porphyry tomb of Agrippa under the portico of the Pantheon in Rome. The tomb was a popular architectural image and it became an inspiration to draughtsmen and designers. Robert Adam was one, which is evident in his drawing of 1768 for stools made for Kedleston Hall and Lansdowne House. He had seen the tomb whilst in Rome and also knew well Antoine Desgodetz' Edifices Antiques de Rome. The inkstand is a later interpretation of this powerful form.

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A Dcsgodctz, Edifices Antiques de Rome, 1682. Sec page 10.

106 A sarcophagus inkstand

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A sarcophagus inkstand 107

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109

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A REGENCY ORMOLU CENTRE TABLE

A highly unusual Regency circular centre table, the grey granite top above a beaded and fluted edge, supported on a central fluted column topped with acanthus and laurel decoration bound with a small band of flowers and wheatsheaves, the base with similar acanthus decoration with four scrolled and beaded supports centred by a fluted and foliate banded bell, all supported on a rosewood beaded plinth.

English, circa 1810 Height: 31% in / 79 .5 cm Diameter: 33 in / 84 cm

110 An ormolu centre table

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A SPECIMEN WOOD SOFA TABLE

An unusual Regency calamander and specimen wood spider leg sofa table, the top with varied hardwood veneers within a brass inlaid rosewood crossbanded border with D end flaps, supported on four double curved legs with foliate brass mounts and joined by a circular disc topped with a brass finial, terminating in brass castors.

English, circa 1810 Height: 27 in / 69 cm Length open: 58 in / 147 cm Length closed: 3>SVA in / 91 cm Depth: 24 in / 61 cm

L I T E R A T U R E Regency Furniture, Frances Collard, p 317

For similar examples: The Dictionary of English Furniture, vol. Ill, p 269, fig 17, from the collection of Victoria, Lady Sackville, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum Furniture in Colour, Lanto Synge, p 64

This highly unusual sofa/writing table is one of only three known to exist that incorporates the double curved leg supports that are more often seen on card tables of

the same period. It makes full use of the extravagant and exotic use of a combination of hardwoods, predominently calamander, with zebrawood, rosewood and satinwood to offset the richness of the brass mounts and inlay. It differs slightly from the examples mentioned above in that it is the only known complete table with the brass mounts used throughout. Although no known maker's name can be associated with this table it incorporates the fine lines of the influence of Thomas Sheraton together with the full blown extravaganza of the Regency period.

A specimen wood sofa table 113

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A CABINET IN T H E E G Y P T I A N TASTE Attributed to George Oakley

An ormolu mounted Regency calamander wood Egyptian style cabinet, the upper section with classical pediment enriched with gilt metal decoration, centred with a mask surrounded by pierced foliate decoration, above two bookcase doors with arched astragals and bordered in boxwood and satinwood, the lower section with a secretaire drawer with lion's head ring pull handles opening to reveal a writing surface and an arrangement of small satinwood drawers and pigeon holes, above cupboard doors enclosing two small mahogany and ebony banded drawers above a single shelf, flanked by satinwood inlaid columns headed by Egyptian masks and terminating in gilt embossed feet, raised on short square moulded legs.

English, circa 1810 Height: 69Vi in / 176.5 cm Width: 30/4 in / 78 cm Depth: 20/2 in / 52 cm

L I T E R A T U R E

Grosvenor House Antiques Fair Handbook, 1986, p 83

George Oakley (1773-1840) was a fashionable London maker, producing furniture in the high Regency style or 'Grecian' taste. He had a reputation for the fine quality of his work and the firm received Royal patronage. One contemporary comment describes Oakley as 'the most tasteful of London's cabinet-makers'. Another wrote 'their warehouse is one of the sights of London'. The Egyptian motif is a major element of neo-classicism in the Regency period and a fashionable reflection of Nelson's victory over the French fleet on the Nile in 1798. Oakley frequently used exotic hardwoods such as calamander, or 'zebra' wood, and his cabinet pieces were typically architectural in form.

There exists a small group of cabinets

attributable to Oakley, of which this is one. Each cabinet is of small scale, with strongly grained calamander veneers, gothic astragals and Egyptian caryatids. One, in the MH de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco has the same architectural pediment as this cabinet. Two others are known of the same form but without the classical pediment, one formerly with H Blairman & Son (See their catalogue of 1995, no 4) and another in the Victoria and Albert Museum (See The Dictionary of English Furniture vol I, p 158, fig 80). Oakley's best documented commission was for Charles Madryll Chere at Papworth Hall, Cambridgeshire, which included a bookcase with identical gilt metal ornament in the pediment to this cabinet. Lion's mask drawer handles are also identical to those on an Oakley wardrobe at Papworth.

114 A cabinet in the Egyptian taste

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A PAIR OF B R O N Z E AND O R M O L U TABLE LAMPS

A pair of early 19th century patinated bronze and ormolu table lamps, the boat-shaped supports with flame finial and shaped spout, supporting on one the figure of a young man seated cross-legged in classical dress holding a book in his left hand and a pen in his right hand, the other with a seated girl also in classical dress with an ormolu book open and

raised on her knees, the base with gadrooned decoration, raised on circular socles and square plinths.

French, circa 1800 Height: 12 in / 30.5 cm Width: 4/2 in / 11.5 cm Length: 13'/2 in / 34 cm Base: 414 x 4 in / 11.5 x 10 cm

A pair of bronze and ormolu table lamps 117

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S E L E C T E D B I B L I O G R A P H Y M A L L E T T PLC

Beard, G &: Gilbert, C, edited by. Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, Leeds, 1986. Dickinson, HW, Matthew Boulton, Unversity Press, 1937. Goodison N, Ormolu: The Work of Matthew Boulton London, 1974. Harris, E, The Furniture of Robert Adam, London, 1963. King, D, The Complete Works of Robert Adam, Oxford, 1991. Macquoid, P & Edwards, R, The Dictionary of English Furniture, Country Life, 1954. Spiers, WL Catalogue of the Drawings and Designs of Robert and James Adam, Cambridge, 1979. Tait, A, Robert Adam-Drawings and Imagination Cambridge University Press, 1993. Wood, L, Catalogue of Commodes, HMSO, 1994.

A R T I C L E S Clifford, T, 'Vulliamy Clocks and British Sculpture', Apollo, October 1990, pp 226-237. Ellwood, G, 'James Newton,' Furniture History XXXI , 1995, pp 129-205. Goodison, N, 'Matthew Boulton's Minerva' Burlington Magazine, v.l38 no. 1119, June 1996,p 398-401 Goodison, N, 'Urania Observed' Furniture History, XXI, 1985, pp 241-2 Goodison, N, 'Matthew Boulton's Bacchanalian Vase', The Connoisseur, July 1997, pp 182-7. Redburn, S, 'John McLean and Son', Furniture History XIV, 1978, pp 31-37. Smith, R, 'Benjamin Vulliamy's painted satinwood clocks and pedestals', Apollo, June 1995, pp 25-33.

DIRECTORS Rex Cooper'^ Chairman Lanto Synge Chief Executive The Hon Peter Dixon Paula Hunt Giles Hutchinson Smith Thomas Woodham-Smith Henry Neville

The Hon Mrs Simon Weinstock''

*Non-executive

M A L L E T T & SON ( A N T I Q U E S ) LTD 141 New Bond Street London W I Y OBS Telephone: 020 7499 7411 Fax: 020 7495 3179

Lanto Synge Managing Director The Hon Peter Dixon Director Paula Hunt Director Giles Hutchinson Smith Director John Smith Associate Director James Harvey Associate Director Richard Cave Jeremy Garfield-Davies Tarquin Bilgen Charles Mackinnon

M A L L E T T AT B O U R D O N HOUSE LTD 2 Davies Street London W I Y ILJ Telephone: 020 7629 2444 Fax: 020 7499 2670

Thomas Woodham-Smith Director Henry Neville Director Katie Pertwee Felicity Jarrett Nicholas Wells

Mallett Website: http://www.mallett.co.uk Email: [email protected]

© Mallett & Son (Antiques) Ltd 2000 Designed by Theo Hodges Business Design Consultants Printed by Hyway Printing Group

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