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Lot Essay
THE PROVENANCE
By far the most likely early provenance for this bureau-cabinet, and the one supported by the weight of family tradition, is that it was bought in London in the early 1850s by Axel, Count Hamilton (1787-1875), who was known as a collector of beautiful furniture. There are two alternative possibilities: the first is that the cabinet formed part of the dowry of Anna Russell Cruise, whom he married in 1853 in London, and had come from her family collection at Dynan House, Swords, Co. Dublin. Portraits and other family items of hers remain at Ovesholm Castle in Sweden. The final and most tantalising possibility is that it was exported new to Sweden and was inherited not bought by Count Axel Hamilton. Belchier is not recorded as having an export trade, but it is certainly a possibility.
There are two small pieces of evidence that support the possibility of the cabinet having been in Sweden longer than from the mid-19th Century. One of the finials was fixed in place by a scrap of paper in its socket. This scrap of paper is inscribed in Swedish, apparently in an 18th Century hand ' and Berg Rust (or Berg R...t), ... genom G.rndotz. Of these the only recognisable word is 'genom' which means 'through' or 'with the help of'. The other two are probably family or location names. If this scrap of paper is 18th century it is possible that the cabinet has been in Sweden longer than from the mid-19th Century. The second piece of evidence is provided by the author of the 1906 description of the cabinet in Svenska Slott och Herresaeten, loc.cit. Writing only thirty years after the death of Axel, Count Hamilton, the author believed this cabinet to be German or Austrian (encouraged no doubt by the impressive presence of the Imperial eagles of the Holy Roman Empire). It seems unlikely that such a mistake would have been made if the cabinet had only been in Sweden for one generation, although it would already have moved from one castle to another, possibly losing its origin on the way.
THE ATTRIBUTION TO JOHN BELCHIER
The attribution of japanned bureau-cabinets of the highest quality is a very uncertain business as very few indeed were executed by a known maker and there is surprisingly little repetition of specific pieces of ornament. In the whole spectrum of published cabinets, and those illustrated when sold, this cabinet seems to be one of four, of the highest quality, which can be attributed to John Belchier of 'The Sun', on the south side of St. Paul's Churchyard (The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, Leeds, 1986, pp. 59-60). The key to this attribution is the magnificent double-domed scarlet-japanned bureau-cabinet at Erddig, Denbighshire, supplied by Belchier in the early 1720s (The National Trust, Erddig, 1999, p. 71, and M. Drury, 'Early 18th Century Furniture at Erddig', Apollo, vol. CVIII, July 1978, p. 52, pl. II). The 'red Japan Cabinate' is listed in the 'Blew Mohair Room' in the 1726 inventory. If Belchier actually visited
Erddig, he would have seen a remarkable Chinese screen with a hunting scene accompanied by trellised and scrolled compartments in incised lacquer of the late 17th Century (M. Jourdain, Chinese Export Art, London, 1950, fig. 13).
The other two members of the group attributable to Belchier are both green japanned: one from the collection of C.B.O. Clarke, Esq, sold in these Rooms, 16 November 1989, lot 128 (£253,000 [$404,800]) which relates most closely to the internal arrangement of the Hamilton cabinet, and the other sold in these Rooms, 5 July 1990, lot 150 (£220,000 [$387,200]).
The key stylistic characteristics that seem to separate Belchier's cabinets from those of his contemporaries, particularly Giles Grendey, are: more crowded decoration on the flap than on other parts of the cabinet, particularly the lower drawers; quite large motifs on the reverse of the main doors that do not fill the panel but leave room for a bird or insect to fly above; and lack of correlation between the position of the handles and the decoration on the drawers (in contrast to Grendey). In particular, the Erddig scarlet japanned cabinet shares with this one the feature of a hunting scene on the flap that is not repeated elsewhere on the cabinet.
Belchier also specialised in fine walnut furniture and is also likely to have supplied the elaborately fitted Tyrconnel bureau-cabinet, that was listed at Belton, Lincolnshire, in 1737 as a 'walnut tree bureau with pier glass doors'. Supplied for Sir John Brownlow, Bt., Lord Viscount Tyrconnel (d.1754) it also features Arcadian deities set in niches above the pilasters of its tabernacle compartment. The latter's triumphal-arch displays a poetic 'Apollo' sunburst, which was a motif much favoured by John Belchier, since he adopted it as his trade sign for his establishment.
THE FORM AND ORNAMENT
This magnificent mirrored bureau-cabinet of blue 'japan' enriched with golden flowers and decorative garden vignettes is multi-functional, as suited to small scale bedroom apartments. It unites the services of the pier-set, comprised of mirror, dressing-table and candle-stands, with those of chest-of-drawers and desk. It is well equipped with nests-of-drawers, a locked 'tabernacle' compartment and a multitude of pigeon-holes and folio compartments picked out in red.
The triumphal arch form of the tabernacle top celebrates Lyric poetry and 'Love's triumph', with Ovid's Metamorphoses being recalled by niched figures of the Arcadian deities Mars and Venus, who preside over trompe l'oeil marble composite columns.
Its fine varnished paintings reflect the colourful decoration appropriate to bedroom apartments and, while imitating the expensive lacquer imports of the East India Company, it also introduces a novel 'Indian' air. This Chinese or 'Indian' air intentionally broke the rules of classical proportion and perspective to produce a whimsicality that had been popularised since the 17th Century. In particular it had been introduced in London by James Stalker, a celebrated art teacher, retailer of artists' materials and author of A Treatise of Japanning and Varnishing, 1688. Stalker provided the recipe for producing the blue colour, the effect of low-relief lacquer work, as well as appropriate patterns of Chinese figures, gardens and flowers. This art had advanced to such a degree that by 1701 the 'Patentees for lacquering after the manner of Japan' informed Parliament that 'Many of the Artificers in the same art and Mystery have brought it to so great a perfection as to exceed all manner of Indian lacquer, and to equal the right Japan itself'.
While the cabinet interior features delightful vignettes of a tea-table and a child playing with a hobby horse, the principal image of the bureau is a sporting scene that is painted on the writing-fall within a trellised and Chinese scrolled frame.
By far the most likely early provenance for this bureau-cabinet, and the one supported by the weight of family tradition, is that it was bought in London in the early 1850s by Axel, Count Hamilton (1787-1875), who was known as a collector of beautiful furniture. There are two alternative possibilities: the first is that the cabinet formed part of the dowry of Anna Russell Cruise, whom he married in 1853 in London, and had come from her family collection at Dynan House, Swords, Co. Dublin. Portraits and other family items of hers remain at Ovesholm Castle in Sweden. The final and most tantalising possibility is that it was exported new to Sweden and was inherited not bought by Count Axel Hamilton. Belchier is not recorded as having an export trade, but it is certainly a possibility.
There are two small pieces of evidence that support the possibility of the cabinet having been in Sweden longer than from the mid-19th Century. One of the finials was fixed in place by a scrap of paper in its socket. This scrap of paper is inscribed in Swedish, apparently in an 18th Century hand ' and Berg Rust (or Berg R...t), ... genom G.rndotz. Of these the only recognisable word is 'genom' which means 'through' or 'with the help of'. The other two are probably family or location names. If this scrap of paper is 18th century it is possible that the cabinet has been in Sweden longer than from the mid-19th Century. The second piece of evidence is provided by the author of the 1906 description of the cabinet in Svenska Slott och Herresaeten, loc.cit. Writing only thirty years after the death of Axel, Count Hamilton, the author believed this cabinet to be German or Austrian (encouraged no doubt by the impressive presence of the Imperial eagles of the Holy Roman Empire). It seems unlikely that such a mistake would have been made if the cabinet had only been in Sweden for one generation, although it would already have moved from one castle to another, possibly losing its origin on the way.
THE ATTRIBUTION TO JOHN BELCHIER
The attribution of japanned bureau-cabinets of the highest quality is a very uncertain business as very few indeed were executed by a known maker and there is surprisingly little repetition of specific pieces of ornament. In the whole spectrum of published cabinets, and those illustrated when sold, this cabinet seems to be one of four, of the highest quality, which can be attributed to John Belchier of 'The Sun', on the south side of St. Paul's Churchyard (The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, Leeds, 1986, pp. 59-60). The key to this attribution is the magnificent double-domed scarlet-japanned bureau-cabinet at Erddig, Denbighshire, supplied by Belchier in the early 1720s (The National Trust, Erddig, 1999, p. 71, and M. Drury, 'Early 18th Century Furniture at Erddig', Apollo, vol. CVIII, July 1978, p. 52, pl. II). The 'red Japan Cabinate' is listed in the 'Blew Mohair Room' in the 1726 inventory. If Belchier actually visited
Erddig, he would have seen a remarkable Chinese screen with a hunting scene accompanied by trellised and scrolled compartments in incised lacquer of the late 17th Century (M. Jourdain, Chinese Export Art, London, 1950, fig. 13).
The other two members of the group attributable to Belchier are both green japanned: one from the collection of C.B.O. Clarke, Esq, sold in these Rooms, 16 November 1989, lot 128 (£253,000 [$404,800]) which relates most closely to the internal arrangement of the Hamilton cabinet, and the other sold in these Rooms, 5 July 1990, lot 150 (£220,000 [$387,200]).
The key stylistic characteristics that seem to separate Belchier's cabinets from those of his contemporaries, particularly Giles Grendey, are: more crowded decoration on the flap than on other parts of the cabinet, particularly the lower drawers; quite large motifs on the reverse of the main doors that do not fill the panel but leave room for a bird or insect to fly above; and lack of correlation between the position of the handles and the decoration on the drawers (in contrast to Grendey). In particular, the Erddig scarlet japanned cabinet shares with this one the feature of a hunting scene on the flap that is not repeated elsewhere on the cabinet.
Belchier also specialised in fine walnut furniture and is also likely to have supplied the elaborately fitted Tyrconnel bureau-cabinet, that was listed at Belton, Lincolnshire, in 1737 as a 'walnut tree bureau with pier glass doors'. Supplied for Sir John Brownlow, Bt., Lord Viscount Tyrconnel (d.1754) it also features Arcadian deities set in niches above the pilasters of its tabernacle compartment. The latter's triumphal-arch displays a poetic 'Apollo' sunburst, which was a motif much favoured by John Belchier, since he adopted it as his trade sign for his establishment.
THE FORM AND ORNAMENT
This magnificent mirrored bureau-cabinet of blue 'japan' enriched with golden flowers and decorative garden vignettes is multi-functional, as suited to small scale bedroom apartments. It unites the services of the pier-set, comprised of mirror, dressing-table and candle-stands, with those of chest-of-drawers and desk. It is well equipped with nests-of-drawers, a locked 'tabernacle' compartment and a multitude of pigeon-holes and folio compartments picked out in red.
The triumphal arch form of the tabernacle top celebrates Lyric poetry and 'Love's triumph', with Ovid's Metamorphoses being recalled by niched figures of the Arcadian deities Mars and Venus, who preside over trompe l'oeil marble composite columns.
Its fine varnished paintings reflect the colourful decoration appropriate to bedroom apartments and, while imitating the expensive lacquer imports of the East India Company, it also introduces a novel 'Indian' air. This Chinese or 'Indian' air intentionally broke the rules of classical proportion and perspective to produce a whimsicality that had been popularised since the 17th Century. In particular it had been introduced in London by James Stalker, a celebrated art teacher, retailer of artists' materials and author of A Treatise of Japanning and Varnishing, 1688. Stalker provided the recipe for producing the blue colour, the effect of low-relief lacquer work, as well as appropriate patterns of Chinese figures, gardens and flowers. This art had advanced to such a degree that by 1701 the 'Patentees for lacquering after the manner of Japan' informed Parliament that 'Many of the Artificers in the same art and Mystery have brought it to so great a perfection as to exceed all manner of Indian lacquer, and to equal the right Japan itself'.
While the cabinet interior features delightful vignettes of a tea-table and a child playing with a hobby horse, the principal image of the bureau is a sporting scene that is painted on the writing-fall within a trellised and Chinese scrolled frame.