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Lot Essay
This striking ‘boulle’ or ‘buhl’ table, branded with the stamp ‘G.I. MORANT/NEW BOND STREET’, was almost certainly retailed rather than executed by the Morant firm. Established in 1790 by George Morant (d. 1839), they engaged in a diverse number of interior decorating activities. From 1825-39, they held a Royal warrant, and in the late 1830s were supplying French-style furniture inlaid with ‘buhl’ applied with the Morant stamp for Queen Adelaide’s apartment at Mamhead, Devon (C. Hussey, ‘Mamhead, Devon – II: The Property of Sir Ralph Newman, Bt.’, Country Life, 2 June 1955, p. 1430). In 1839, G.I. Morant succeeded to his father’s business and was granted the Royal Appointment of cabinet-maker to Queen Victoria in 1842. Some of the firm’s ‘buhl’ furniture had panels supplied by Jeandon of boulevard Bourdon, Paris, a dealer and cabinet-maker specialising in marquetry - although typically Jeandon also stamped his furniture - for example a Louis XIV-style ormolu-mounted contre-partie ‘buhl’ writing-table, sold Christie’s, London, 28 September 2006, lot 18 and a Morant-stamped ‘buhl’ ladies writing-desk, circa 1840, offered in an Edinburgh auction on 2 August 2008.
Cabinet-makers specialising in the art of ‘buhl’ started to appear in London between 1800 and 1830. Their specialist craft was the ability to create furniture to resemble 17th and 18th century French originals. Classified as ‘Buhl Manufacturers’ in London’s commercial directories, their number included Thomas Parker of Warwick Street, Joseph Binns of Frederick Place and the émigré
Louis C. Le Gagineur. Furniture applied with ‘buhl’ in this period was made fashionable by George, Prince Regent and his intimate circle; the former was acquiring ‘buhl’ furniture for the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, including ‘A Very handsome Metalic Buhl ornament Library Table…’ and ‘A handsome Metalic Buhl ornament Table - the companion to the one Delivered July 26’ (M. Levy, ‘Sincerest Form of Flattery’, Country Life, 15 June 1989, pp. 180-181, fig. 8).
Cabinet-makers specialising in the art of ‘buhl’ started to appear in London between 1800 and 1830. Their specialist craft was the ability to create furniture to resemble 17th and 18th century French originals. Classified as ‘Buhl Manufacturers’ in London’s commercial directories, their number included Thomas Parker of Warwick Street, Joseph Binns of Frederick Place and the émigré
Louis C. Le Gagineur. Furniture applied with ‘buhl’ in this period was made fashionable by George, Prince Regent and his intimate circle; the former was acquiring ‘buhl’ furniture for the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, including ‘A Very handsome Metalic Buhl ornament Library Table…’ and ‘A handsome Metalic Buhl ornament Table - the companion to the one Delivered July 26’ (M. Levy, ‘Sincerest Form of Flattery’, Country Life, 15 June 1989, pp. 180-181, fig. 8).