Lot Essay
Its elegant classical form, with greek-fret banding and scrolled brackets supporting an open-pedimented entablature, typifies the fashionable architectural furniture of the early years of King George III's reign such as was illustrated in Thomas Chippendale's Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 3rd ed., 1762. It represents the mid-eighteenth century 'Palladian' architecture popularised by publications like Isaac Ware's Complete Body of Architecture, 1756, and is a refined version of the 'antique' manner of Inigo Jones (d. 1652) which had been promoted as the 'national' style by Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and his protégés on King George II's Board of Works. Added to this are naturalistic carvings in the 'French' manner with the tapering 'herm' pilasters being festooned with delicate flowered and berried tendrils and panelled 'commode' doors with flowered 'hollow' corners, also in the 'French' manner.
Similar richly carved furniture was commissioned by King George III following his purchase of Buckingham House (now Palace) in 1761, and was supplied by Chippendale's neighbours, Messrs. William Vile and John Cobb, upholsterers and cabinet-makers of St. Martin's Lane. They were granted the Royal Warrant in June 1761, and much of their grand furniture was supplied under the direction of Sir William Chambers (d. 1796), who with Robert Adam (d. 1792) shared the post of Architect to King George III's Office of Works. Amongst related pieces in the Royal Collection and illustrated in A. Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London, 1968, are George III's medal-cabinet (fig. 21) (part of which is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, while another part is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York); and Queen Charlotte's cabinet (fig. 15) with its tapering 'herm' pilasters, surmounted with acanthus-scroll brackets and embellished with festoons hanging from a ring held by a 'tamed' lion-mask.
However, the most closely related by Vile and Cobb items are the King George III's 'Garter-badge' bookcase (fig. 14) with its open pediment, fretwork banding and plinths enriched with festoons held by lion-masks within 'flower'-cornered panels and its corresponding 'commode tables' (fig. 18) with their bracketed corner pilasters and festoons hung from rings (almost identical to those on this bookcase).
It is of interest to compare the style of this bookcase and the related pieces in the Royal Collection with the contemporary pedimented bookcases with grecian elements designed by Robert Adam (d. 1792) and supplied by Messrs. Vile and Cobb for George William, 6th Earl of Coventry, Croome Court, Worcestershire. The Croome bookcases, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (W.76-1975), also have the thin glazing bars, which are intended to 'disappear' once the cases are full of books, and likewise rely for effect on the richness of their carved pilasters. The latter embellished with Adam's rosettes and scrolled 'rinceau' foliage were carved in 1763 by Messrs. Vile and Cobb's specialist master carver, Sefferin Alken (1744-83) of Golden Square, who subscribed to Chamber's Designs for Chinese Buildings, 1757 and his Treatise on Civil Architecture, 1759, and carved a bookcase to Chambers' design for the 4th Duke of Bedford in 1764. It is possible that this craftsman may also have been involved with the carving of this bookcase (J. Hardy, 'The Croome Court Library', Connoisseur, January 1976, pp. 30-31).
The quality of design and craftmanship, combined with the attribution to Vile, make it one of the most imposing and important bookcases to appear at auction for many years, and no doubt ongoing research will reveal its 18th Century provenance to be as illustrious as the piece itself
Similar richly carved furniture was commissioned by King George III following his purchase of Buckingham House (now Palace) in 1761, and was supplied by Chippendale's neighbours, Messrs. William Vile and John Cobb, upholsterers and cabinet-makers of St. Martin's Lane. They were granted the Royal Warrant in June 1761, and much of their grand furniture was supplied under the direction of Sir William Chambers (d. 1796), who with Robert Adam (d. 1792) shared the post of Architect to King George III's Office of Works. Amongst related pieces in the Royal Collection and illustrated in A. Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London, 1968, are George III's medal-cabinet (fig. 21) (part of which is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, while another part is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York); and Queen Charlotte's cabinet (fig. 15) with its tapering 'herm' pilasters, surmounted with acanthus-scroll brackets and embellished with festoons hanging from a ring held by a 'tamed' lion-mask.
However, the most closely related by Vile and Cobb items are the King George III's 'Garter-badge' bookcase (fig. 14) with its open pediment, fretwork banding and plinths enriched with festoons held by lion-masks within 'flower'-cornered panels and its corresponding 'commode tables' (fig. 18) with their bracketed corner pilasters and festoons hung from rings (almost identical to those on this bookcase).
It is of interest to compare the style of this bookcase and the related pieces in the Royal Collection with the contemporary pedimented bookcases with grecian elements designed by Robert Adam (d. 1792) and supplied by Messrs. Vile and Cobb for George William, 6th Earl of Coventry, Croome Court, Worcestershire. The Croome bookcases, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (W.76-1975), also have the thin glazing bars, which are intended to 'disappear' once the cases are full of books, and likewise rely for effect on the richness of their carved pilasters. The latter embellished with Adam's rosettes and scrolled 'rinceau' foliage were carved in 1763 by Messrs. Vile and Cobb's specialist master carver, Sefferin Alken (1744-83) of Golden Square, who subscribed to Chamber's Designs for Chinese Buildings, 1757 and his Treatise on Civil Architecture, 1759, and carved a bookcase to Chambers' design for the 4th Duke of Bedford in 1764. It is possible that this craftsman may also have been involved with the carving of this bookcase (J. Hardy, 'The Croome Court Library', Connoisseur, January 1976, pp. 30-31).
The quality of design and craftmanship, combined with the attribution to Vile, make it one of the most imposing and important bookcases to appear at auction for many years, and no doubt ongoing research will reveal its 18th Century provenance to be as illustrious as the piece itself