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Lot Essay
The beribboned husk garlands on the frieze, represented in both carved
mahogany and marquetry, are typical of Mayhew & Ince’s oeuvre; a mahogany
commode with closely related carved frieze, attributed to Mayhew & Ince,
supplied to George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchelsea and 4th Earl of Nottingham
for Burley-on-the-Hill, Rutland, sold Christie’s, London, 6 July 1989, lot 147,
and later, ‘Simon Sainsbury The Creation of an English Arcadia, vol. II’,
Christie’s, London, 18 June 2008, lot 250. This table also relates to a set of
dining room furniture with similar carving comprising a ‘sideboard’, pair of
side tables, pair of pedestals surmounted by urns and a wine cooler, probably
Mayhew & Ince, sold, ‘Miss Bouverie, Delapré Abbey’, Northamptonshire,
Jackson Stops & Staf, 23-25 September 1941, lots 168-170a. Furthermore
the floret roundels to the frieze are distinctive, and feature on the frieze of
a pair of giltwood and marquetry pier tables by Mayhew & Ince, supplied
to Richard Myddelton, now at Chirk Castle, North Wales. The beading
surrounding the oval paterae, and the block feet are also characteristic, the
latter possibly deriving from Thomas Chippendale’s (d. 1779) designs, which
incorporated versions of this foot on hall chairs at Garrick’s Villa, Hampton,
and Harewood House (C. Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale,
Leeds, 1978, pp. 96-97, figs. 155, 159.
The inspiration for this ‘Roman’ ornamentation was almost certainly Robert
Adam. This decoration features throughout Adam’s The works in architecture
(1773–79) including a bridge elevation for the gardens at Syon (Syon Park,
Middlesex) (plates III, IV), a wine cooler for Kenwood House, Middlesex
(plate VIII), and the portico of the east front of Luton Park (plate IV). From
1764 Mayhew & Ince worked with Adam on several notable commissions
culminating in their ‘ability to produce very early on furniture in the most
startling advanced Neo-classical taste’ (G. Beard, C. Gilbert, Dictionary of
English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, Leeds, 1986, p. 592). They faithfully
reproduced Adam’s furniture designs, in 1775 supplying the magnificent
Derby House commode to Edward Smith-Stanley, Lord Strange (later 12th
Earl of Derby) for his Grosvenor Square, London property.
This table almost certainly came from Cleobury Hall, Shropshire, a former
home of the Mytton family. It is interesting to note that the Edwardes and
Mytton family were closely linked and an apparently 18th century letter
remains in the family archive written by a member of the Edwardes family
from Shipton Hall, another Mytton house which was later inherited by
the Mores as was Cleobury Hall. The connection of these two families is
fascinating because Sir Thomas Edwardes Bt., is a known patron of Mayhew
and Ince, thus providing a link between client and patron.
mahogany and marquetry, are typical of Mayhew & Ince’s oeuvre; a mahogany
commode with closely related carved frieze, attributed to Mayhew & Ince,
supplied to George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchelsea and 4th Earl of Nottingham
for Burley-on-the-Hill, Rutland, sold Christie’s, London, 6 July 1989, lot 147,
and later, ‘Simon Sainsbury The Creation of an English Arcadia, vol. II’,
Christie’s, London, 18 June 2008, lot 250. This table also relates to a set of
dining room furniture with similar carving comprising a ‘sideboard’, pair of
side tables, pair of pedestals surmounted by urns and a wine cooler, probably
Mayhew & Ince, sold, ‘Miss Bouverie, Delapré Abbey’, Northamptonshire,
Jackson Stops & Staf, 23-25 September 1941, lots 168-170a. Furthermore
the floret roundels to the frieze are distinctive, and feature on the frieze of
a pair of giltwood and marquetry pier tables by Mayhew & Ince, supplied
to Richard Myddelton, now at Chirk Castle, North Wales. The beading
surrounding the oval paterae, and the block feet are also characteristic, the
latter possibly deriving from Thomas Chippendale’s (d. 1779) designs, which
incorporated versions of this foot on hall chairs at Garrick’s Villa, Hampton,
and Harewood House (C. Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale,
Leeds, 1978, pp. 96-97, figs. 155, 159.
The inspiration for this ‘Roman’ ornamentation was almost certainly Robert
Adam. This decoration features throughout Adam’s The works in architecture
(1773–79) including a bridge elevation for the gardens at Syon (Syon Park,
Middlesex) (plates III, IV), a wine cooler for Kenwood House, Middlesex
(plate VIII), and the portico of the east front of Luton Park (plate IV). From
1764 Mayhew & Ince worked with Adam on several notable commissions
culminating in their ‘ability to produce very early on furniture in the most
startling advanced Neo-classical taste’ (G. Beard, C. Gilbert, Dictionary of
English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, Leeds, 1986, p. 592). They faithfully
reproduced Adam’s furniture designs, in 1775 supplying the magnificent
Derby House commode to Edward Smith-Stanley, Lord Strange (later 12th
Earl of Derby) for his Grosvenor Square, London property.
This table almost certainly came from Cleobury Hall, Shropshire, a former
home of the Mytton family. It is interesting to note that the Edwardes and
Mytton family were closely linked and an apparently 18th century letter
remains in the family archive written by a member of the Edwardes family
from Shipton Hall, another Mytton house which was later inherited by
the Mores as was Cleobury Hall. The connection of these two families is
fascinating because Sir Thomas Edwardes Bt., is a known patron of Mayhew
and Ince, thus providing a link between client and patron.