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Lot Essay
This Palladian 'Ionic' chimneypiece evolved from a pattern conceived by Inigo Jones (d. 1652) exemplified in the Queen's Closet, Somerset House, London (RIBA Library Drawings & Archives Collections, no. RIBA21377 illustrated). The design was subsequently interpreted by Isaac Ware (d. 1766) and William Kent (d. 1748), followers of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and the revival of Palladian architecture.
Other closely related examples include an apparently identical chimneypiece designed in circa 1748-49 by Ware for James Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield's 'magnificent' town house, Chesterfield House, London, illustrated in 'The Drawing-Room'. (L.A. Shuffrey, The English Fireplace, London, 1912, plate CV111). This room, possibly at the eastern end of the first floor, was subsequently joined to another room to form the ballroom. The chimneypiece was described as Siena marble by Shuffrey (ibid. p. 191), however, H. Avary Tipping stated in a Country Life article on the property that 'the only one (chimneypiece) of that marble (Giallo di Sienna) is of the French type', that is rococo, for despite Ware's Palladian inclination, the 4th Earl was a committed Francophile, insisting upon some ornamentation 'à la Françoise' (H. Avary Tipping, 'Chesterfield House II', Country Life, 4 March 1922, p. 310) this seems to call the material from which the Chesterfield House chimneypiece was constructed into question.
Ware illustrated chimneypieces with tablets of related design to that employed in the ornament of the present example in his work, A Complete Body of Architecture, Book I, 1756, (pls 89 & 94) and writes at some length why he favoured this shape for the tablet and considered it so appropriate for chimneypieces 'of all its parts, the central tablet is the principal: that will attract the eye first, and detain it longest; and consequently upon that it is needful to bestow the greatest attention. With respect to its form, that of an oblong square would first come into the architects thought; but something may properly be added to it... To this purpose, in the present instance, let the tablet drop into the upper member of the frame only in the middle; the two side parts being of the breadth of the freeze. This will give the tablet itself a more handsome shape than that of a plain square, and will suit it very happily to receive the ornament that is most proper for it. This may be of various kinds; but there is none so fit as a head;... and leave almost necessity of short festoons on the two sides...' (ibid. Book VI, Ch. XXXIV, p. 601).
Ware also writes of his preference for the marble utilsed in the present example 'There are some of the old marbles much more fit for the purpose; the true verde antique, will be a glorious addition in this place, its elegant green being altogether unlike the whole; and upon this the ornament well wrought in the same statuary kind will be very elegant' (ibid. Book VI, Ch. XI, p. 567).
Although there is no record of the sculptors that Isaac Ware instructed to undertake his designs, one distinct possibility is James Richards (d. 1767) appointed Master Sculptor & Carver in Wood, Office of Works to George I after Grinling Gibbons demise. James Richards was Isaac Ware's father-in-law, and Ware's son, Walter James Ware, was employed in Richards' workshop. James Richards is documented as having carved ornaments on chimneypieces at Kensington Palace and was employed by William Kent to execute carved stonework for the Horse Guards and at Lord Pelham's house at 17 Arlington Street. The overmantel in the King's Gallery at Kensington Palace is also believed to have been by Richards, again working for Kent (Ed. Geoffrey Beard, Christopher Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, Leeds, 1986, p. 742). Ware's close family ties to Richards make it highly probable that Ware would have utilised Richards' workshops for the execution of his designs.
Another example of this chimneypiece again in Verde Antico with a centred head of Flora rather than Mercury as in the present example was advertised by the antique dealer, Stanley J. Pratt Limited, in Connoisseur in October 1963 (vol. 154, no. 620). William Kent designed a similar chimneypiece, sculpted by Joseph Pickford (d. 1762), for Lady Isabella Finch and supplied to 44, Berkley Square, London in 1742-3 (John Harris, William Kent's 44 Berkeley Square, Apollo, August 1987, no. 126, p. 104, fig. 7). While another related example in Siena marble is in 'The Dining Room' of Hagley Hall, Stourbridge (Hagley Hall Guidebook, Norwich, 1989, The Dining Room).
A chimneypiece of closely related design, utilising the same form of mask-carved central tablet but in this instance combining statuary and Siena marbles, removed from the Great Dining Room at Northumberland House, The Strand, was sold Christies London, 17 November 1988, lot 100 (£220,000 inclusive of premium).
We are grateful to Miles d'Agar for his assistance in compiling this note.
Other closely related examples include an apparently identical chimneypiece designed in circa 1748-49 by Ware for James Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield's 'magnificent' town house, Chesterfield House, London, illustrated in 'The Drawing-Room'. (L.A. Shuffrey, The English Fireplace, London, 1912, plate CV111). This room, possibly at the eastern end of the first floor, was subsequently joined to another room to form the ballroom. The chimneypiece was described as Siena marble by Shuffrey (ibid. p. 191), however, H. Avary Tipping stated in a Country Life article on the property that 'the only one (chimneypiece) of that marble (Giallo di Sienna) is of the French type', that is rococo, for despite Ware's Palladian inclination, the 4th Earl was a committed Francophile, insisting upon some ornamentation 'à la Françoise' (H. Avary Tipping, 'Chesterfield House II', Country Life, 4 March 1922, p. 310) this seems to call the material from which the Chesterfield House chimneypiece was constructed into question.
Ware illustrated chimneypieces with tablets of related design to that employed in the ornament of the present example in his work, A Complete Body of Architecture, Book I, 1756, (pls 89 & 94) and writes at some length why he favoured this shape for the tablet and considered it so appropriate for chimneypieces 'of all its parts, the central tablet is the principal: that will attract the eye first, and detain it longest; and consequently upon that it is needful to bestow the greatest attention. With respect to its form, that of an oblong square would first come into the architects thought; but something may properly be added to it... To this purpose, in the present instance, let the tablet drop into the upper member of the frame only in the middle; the two side parts being of the breadth of the freeze. This will give the tablet itself a more handsome shape than that of a plain square, and will suit it very happily to receive the ornament that is most proper for it. This may be of various kinds; but there is none so fit as a head;... and leave almost necessity of short festoons on the two sides...' (ibid. Book VI, Ch. XXXIV, p. 601).
Ware also writes of his preference for the marble utilsed in the present example 'There are some of the old marbles much more fit for the purpose; the true verde antique, will be a glorious addition in this place, its elegant green being altogether unlike the whole; and upon this the ornament well wrought in the same statuary kind will be very elegant' (ibid. Book VI, Ch. XI, p. 567).
Although there is no record of the sculptors that Isaac Ware instructed to undertake his designs, one distinct possibility is James Richards (d. 1767) appointed Master Sculptor & Carver in Wood, Office of Works to George I after Grinling Gibbons demise. James Richards was Isaac Ware's father-in-law, and Ware's son, Walter James Ware, was employed in Richards' workshop. James Richards is documented as having carved ornaments on chimneypieces at Kensington Palace and was employed by William Kent to execute carved stonework for the Horse Guards and at Lord Pelham's house at 17 Arlington Street. The overmantel in the King's Gallery at Kensington Palace is also believed to have been by Richards, again working for Kent (Ed. Geoffrey Beard, Christopher Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, Leeds, 1986, p. 742). Ware's close family ties to Richards make it highly probable that Ware would have utilised Richards' workshops for the execution of his designs.
Another example of this chimneypiece again in Verde Antico with a centred head of Flora rather than Mercury as in the present example was advertised by the antique dealer, Stanley J. Pratt Limited, in Connoisseur in October 1963 (vol. 154, no. 620). William Kent designed a similar chimneypiece, sculpted by Joseph Pickford (d. 1762), for Lady Isabella Finch and supplied to 44, Berkley Square, London in 1742-3 (John Harris, William Kent's 44 Berkeley Square, Apollo, August 1987, no. 126, p. 104, fig. 7). While another related example in Siena marble is in 'The Dining Room' of Hagley Hall, Stourbridge (Hagley Hall Guidebook, Norwich, 1989, The Dining Room).
A chimneypiece of closely related design, utilising the same form of mask-carved central tablet but in this instance combining statuary and Siena marbles, removed from the Great Dining Room at Northumberland House, The Strand, was sold Christies London, 17 November 1988, lot 100 (£220,000 inclusive of premium).
We are grateful to Miles d'Agar for his assistance in compiling this note.