LATE 17TH CENTURY

Details

A CHARLES II OAK COURT CUPBOARD
LATE 17TH CENTURY
With a moulded top and dentil and arcaded frieze, divided by turned finials headed by split bobbins on column supports with Ionic capitals, the upper two tiers each with three moulded drawers, one original and five added in the 19th Century, the conforming base applied with studs on turned feet
48 in. (122 cm.) high; 48½ in. (123 cm.) wide; 18 in. (46 cm.) deep

Provenance

The private collection of R.A. Kern, Esq.
Acquired from Hotspur, 4 August 1981.

Literature

R.W. Symonds, 'Court and Livery Cupboards, Their Design and Evolution', Antique Collector, June 1951, p. 127, fig. 5

Exhibited

The Art Treasures Exhibition, Bath, May-June 1958, no. 341.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The main purpose of the cupboard from medieval times to the 17th Century was for the display of silver or gilt plate or pewter. Literally a board on which to display cups, it was an open structure of two or three tiers. Frequent mention in 15th and 16th Century inventories of the term 'cup-board plate' reflects the close link between the furniture and the wares displayed upon it. William Harrison, who wrote his Description of England in 1577, noted in the houses of the nobility 'silver vessell, and so much other plate, as may furnish sundry cupboards, to the summe oftentimes of a thousand or two thousand pounds at the least' (R.W. Symonds, 'Court and Livery Cupboards, Their Design and Evolution', Antique Collector, June 1951, pp 126 - 132).

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