A GEORGE II MAHOGANY KNEEHOLE DESK

CIRCA 1750

Details

A GEORGE II MAHOGANY KNEEHOLE DESK
Circa 1750
The serpentine crossbanded top above a conforming case with arched kneehole and foliate spandrels, the kneehole framed by fluted columnar uprights flanked by two ranges of four short drawers and foliate corbels, the sides each with four working and four false drawers, on later bracket feet, mounted with foliate ormolu bail handles, possibly remounted
33in. (83cm.) high, 52in. (132cm.) wide, 26in. (66cm.) deep

Provenance

The late Sir Maxwell Joseph, sold Christie's London, 27 November 1980, lot 77
The Property of a Gentleman, sold Christie's London, 16 November 1989, lot 103

Literature

G.Beard and J.Goodison, English Furniture 1500-1840, London, 1987, p.148, fig.2

Lot Essay

A similar desk from Rufford Abbey, Nottinghamhsire, was sold Christie's London, 17 November 1938, lot 68. Another, possibly identical, was in the Collection of H.R.H. the Duchess of Kent.

This elaborate rococo pattern handle appears on a kneehole dressing table in the collection of the Earls of Leicester, Holkham Hall, Norfolk (illustrated in A.Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London, 1968, pl.370). The same handles are also used on 'The Marchioness of Rockingham's Cabinet' probably supplied by cabinetmakers Wright and Elwick for Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire, and sold by Christie's London, 8 July 1988, lot 35.