.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The handsome linen-presses, commissioned by Edward Leigh (1742-1786) 5th Lord Leigh, are designed in the mid-eighteenth century 'Roman' fashion. Their Doric cornices are enriched with ribbon-frets that derive from the Doric order of the Baths of Diocletian, Rome, (illustrated in Antoine Desgodetz', Les Edifices Antiques de Rome, 1682, and illustrated in The Complete Body of Architecture, 1756 (pl. 20) issued by Isaac Ware, architect and protégé of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (d.1753). Its triumphal-arched and sunk-panelled doors are likewise embellished with ogival spandrels in the French antique fashion. They were supplied for Stoneleigh Abbey, Warwickshire and are likely to be those featured in the 1764 (14 March to 25 May) invoice submitted by the Coventry cabinet-maker Robert Keene (d. 1778). They were largely crafted by Thomas Gordon, who worked on them for twenty-six days, and he was assisted by Samuel Phillips and John Binney in setting them up in the house (G. Beard & C. Gilbert (eds.), The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, Leeds, 1986, p. 502). They were invoiced as:
'2 large linen presses £4 11s 0d
111 feet of Inch ½ wannscotts for do £3 14s 0d
6 pair of Brite Iron Butt hinges 7s 6d
16 strong handles & roses etc. 13s 4d'
The total bill for the presses, including several additional expenses was £24 9s 6¼d.
'2 large linen presses £4 11s 0d
111 feet of Inch ½ wannscotts for d
6 pair of Brite Iron Butt hinges 7s 6d
16 strong handles & roses etc. 13s 4d'
The total bill for the presses, including several additional expenses was £24 9s 6¼d.