THE PROPERTY OF A LADY
A GEORGE I GILT-METAL MOUNTED GILT-GESSO EIGHT-LIGHT CHANDELIER
Details
A GEORGE I GILT-METAL MOUNTED GILT-GESSO EIGHT-LIGHT CHANDELIER
CIRCA 1715, ATTRIBUTED TO JAMES MOORE AND JOHN GUMLEY
The foliate canopy above an ovoid midsection and tapering strapwork stem headed by lambrequins issuing eight foliate scrolled arms with beaded drip pans and later gilt-metal nozzles, above gilt-metal masks of Diana with pierced scrolling headresses centering the goddess' crescent badge, with gadrooned base and pendant ring (electrified)--46in. (117cm.) high, 46in. (117cm.) diameter
CIRCA 1715, ATTRIBUTED TO JAMES MOORE AND JOHN GUMLEY
The foliate canopy above an ovoid midsection and tapering strapwork stem headed by lambrequins issuing eight foliate scrolled arms with beaded drip pans and later gilt-metal nozzles, above gilt-metal masks of Diana with pierced scrolling headresses centering the goddess' crescent badge, with gadrooned base and pendant ring (electrified)--46in. (117cm.) high, 46in. (117cm.) diameter
Provenance
One of a pair supplied to James, 3rd Viscount Scudamore for the State Apartments at Holme Lacy, Herefordshire
By descent to the 10th Earl of Chesterfield, Beningbrough Hall, Yorkshire
Sold in a house sale by Curtis and Hanson, 10-13 June 1958, lots 638 and 639
William Redford, London
Acquired by Mallett and Son, London in May, 1972 and sold to Gerald Hochschild in May, 1973
The Hochschild Collection, sold Sotheby's London, 1 December 1978, lot 15 (acquired by the present owner at the sale)
By descent to the 10th Earl of Chesterfield, Beningbrough Hall, Yorkshire
Sold in a house sale by Curtis and Hanson, 10-13 June 1958, lots 638 and 639
William Redford, London
Acquired by Mallett and Son, London in May, 1972 and sold to Gerald Hochschild in May, 1973
The Hochschild Collection, sold Sotheby's London, 1 December 1978, lot 15 (acquired by the present owner at the sale)
Literature
C. Latham, In English Homes, 1909, vol.III, pp.237 and 247
P. Macquoid and R. Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, 1924, vol.II, p.10, fig.19
J. Fowler and J. Cornforth, English Decoration in the 18th century, rev.edn., 1978, p.18, fig.2
L. Synge, Great English Furniture, 1991, p.83, fig.86 (one of the pair)
This extraordinary chandelier is one of a pair supplied to James, 3rd Viscount Scudamore (d.1716) for the State Apartments at Holme Lacy, possibly by the court cabinet-makers Jame Moore (d.1726) and his partner John Gumley (d.1729). The pair was sold from the collection of Polly Peck International by Phillips London, 19 February 1991, lot 57. It is designed in the 'antique' or 'French arabesque' manner first popularized by William III's architect Daniel Marot (d.1752). Patterns for closely related chandeliers or 'lusters' incorporating lambrequined octagonal stems and feather-plumed masks appear in Marot's goldsmith's book Nouveau Livre d'Orfèvrerie, c. 1700, and his Oeuvres, 1712 (reproduced here, also see H. Ottermeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, 1986, vol.I, p.50, fig.1.6.1). A silver chandelier with similar faceted bulbous stem at Knole Park, Kent is illustrated in R. Edwards and P. Macquoid, The Dictionary of English Furniture, 1924, vol.II, p.5, fig.8. A pair of chandeliers clearly inspired by these patterns and closely related to the Holme Lacy chandeliers were commissioned for Kensington Palace by George I (d.1728) and supplied by Moore and Gumley. One of these now hangs in Brympton d'Evercy, Somerset, and the other is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. This documented commission makes it seem more likely that the court cabinet-makers also supplied the Holme Lacy chandeliers. Another link between Moore and the Holme Lacy chandeliers is a gilt-gesso side table at Beningbrough Hall closely related to a table by Moore now at Buckingham Palace (see below). The Beningbrough table (illustrated in R. Edwards and M. Jourdain, Georgian Cabinet-Makers, 1955, p.130,pl.18), may originally have been supplied to Holme Lacy, as many of the furnishings there, including the chandeliers, were moved to Beningbrough after the sale of Holme Lacy in 1910.
Moore and Gumley, who were employed on Royal commissions from 1714, specialized in finely carved gilt-gesso work embellished with strapwork and scrolling foliage in a rich baroque vein. Unusual for the period, a number of pieces exist which are signed by these cabinet-makers, notably two Royal commissions, a side table supplied to George I incised 'Moore', now at Buckingham Palace, and a mirror with similar female masks to those on the Holme Lacy chandeliers at Hampton Court Palace incised 'Gumley' (see Edwards and Jourdain, op. cit., p.129, pl.16 and p.130, pl.19). Aside from his Royal commission with Gumley, Moore was also independently employed by Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, eventually supervising the building work at Blenheim Palace after Vanbrugh's dismissal in 1716. She later referred to Moore as her 'Oracle'. Moore's other distinguished private clients included the Earl of Burlington, to whom he supplied 'Sconces and Branches' at a cost of 6.6s for Burlington House, Piccadilly in 1720, and the Duke of Montagu (see G. Beard and C. Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, 1986, pp. 618-619).
Holme Lacy, built during Henry VIII's reign, was aggrandized during the Restoration by the 2nd Viscount Scudamore, with panelled rooms carved by Grinling Gibbons and richly decorated plasterwork in a grand baroque manner. The 3rd Viscount succeeded in 1671 and the chandeliers may have been commissioned to celebrate his marriage in 1710. Lady Scudamore, daughter of the 4th Lord Digby, moved among sophisticated literary circles, and poets such as Alexander Pope (who numbered Lord Burlington among his patrons) and John Gay were frequently entertained at Holme Lacy. Lord Scudamore died without a male heir, and Holme Lacy later descended to the Earls of Chesterfield. It was sold in 1910, when the chandeliers, along with many of the paintings and Gibbons carvings, were moved to Beningbrough Hall, Yorkshire by the 9th Earl in 1917.
P. Macquoid and R. Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, 1924, vol.II, p.10, fig.19
J. Fowler and J. Cornforth, English Decoration in the 18th century, rev.edn., 1978, p.18, fig.2
L. Synge, Great English Furniture, 1991, p.83, fig.86 (one of the pair)
This extraordinary chandelier is one of a pair supplied to James, 3rd Viscount Scudamore (d.1716) for the State Apartments at Holme Lacy, possibly by the court cabinet-makers Jame Moore (d.1726) and his partner John Gumley (d.1729). The pair was sold from the collection of Polly Peck International by Phillips London, 19 February 1991, lot 57. It is designed in the 'antique' or 'French arabesque' manner first popularized by William III's architect Daniel Marot (d.1752). Patterns for closely related chandeliers or 'lusters' incorporating lambrequined octagonal stems and feather-plumed masks appear in Marot's goldsmith's book Nouveau Livre d'Orfèvrerie, c. 1700, and his Oeuvres, 1712 (reproduced here, also see H. Ottermeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, 1986, vol.I, p.50, fig.1.6.1). A silver chandelier with similar faceted bulbous stem at Knole Park, Kent is illustrated in R. Edwards and P. Macquoid, The Dictionary of English Furniture, 1924, vol.II, p.5, fig.8. A pair of chandeliers clearly inspired by these patterns and closely related to the Holme Lacy chandeliers were commissioned for Kensington Palace by George I (d.1728) and supplied by Moore and Gumley. One of these now hangs in Brympton d'Evercy, Somerset, and the other is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. This documented commission makes it seem more likely that the court cabinet-makers also supplied the Holme Lacy chandeliers. Another link between Moore and the Holme Lacy chandeliers is a gilt-gesso side table at Beningbrough Hall closely related to a table by Moore now at Buckingham Palace (see below). The Beningbrough table (illustrated in R. Edwards and M. Jourdain, Georgian Cabinet-Makers, 1955, p.130,pl.18), may originally have been supplied to Holme Lacy, as many of the furnishings there, including the chandeliers, were moved to Beningbrough after the sale of Holme Lacy in 1910.
Moore and Gumley, who were employed on Royal commissions from 1714, specialized in finely carved gilt-gesso work embellished with strapwork and scrolling foliage in a rich baroque vein. Unusual for the period, a number of pieces exist which are signed by these cabinet-makers, notably two Royal commissions, a side table supplied to George I incised 'Moore', now at Buckingham Palace, and a mirror with similar female masks to those on the Holme Lacy chandeliers at Hampton Court Palace incised 'Gumley' (see Edwards and Jourdain, op. cit., p.129, pl.16 and p.130, pl.19). Aside from his Royal commission with Gumley, Moore was also independently employed by Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, eventually supervising the building work at Blenheim Palace after Vanbrugh's dismissal in 1716. She later referred to Moore as her 'Oracle'. Moore's other distinguished private clients included the Earl of Burlington, to whom he supplied 'Sconces and Branches' at a cost of 6.6s for Burlington House, Piccadilly in 1720, and the Duke of Montagu (see G. Beard and C. Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, 1986, pp. 618-619).
Holme Lacy, built during Henry VIII's reign, was aggrandized during the Restoration by the 2nd Viscount Scudamore, with panelled rooms carved by Grinling Gibbons and richly decorated plasterwork in a grand baroque manner. The 3rd Viscount succeeded in 1671 and the chandeliers may have been commissioned to celebrate his marriage in 1710. Lady Scudamore, daughter of the 4th Lord Digby, moved among sophisticated literary circles, and poets such as Alexander Pope (who numbered Lord Burlington among his patrons) and John Gay were frequently entertained at Holme Lacy. Lord Scudamore died without a male heir, and Holme Lacy later descended to the Earls of Chesterfield. It was sold in 1910, when the chandeliers, along with many of the paintings and Gibbons carvings, were moved to Beningbrough Hall, Yorkshire by the 9th Earl in 1917.