CIRCA 1785, PROBABLY BY WILLIAM PARKER

Details

A GEORGE III CUT-GLASS TWELVE-LIGHT CHANDELIER
CIRCA 1785, PROBABLY BY WILLIAM PARKER
With central urn-shaped shaft and canopy hung with faceted pendant drops, the cut bowl supporting two tiers of waved branches joined by swags and pendant drops, the lower tier with candle-nozzles, the upper tier with spires, above a lower canopy hung with pendant drops and a pointed boss, losses and replacements, fitted for electricity
67 in. (170 cm.) high; 47 in. (119.5 cm.) diameter

Provenance

Acquired from Christopher Butterworth, March 2008.

Literature

W. Norwich, Interiors: The Greatest Rooms of the Century, London, 2019, illustrated p. 113.
S. Lubell, Life Meets Art: Inside the Homes of the World’s Most Creative People, London 2020, illustrated p. 69.
R. Guilding, ‘Jasper Wares’, World of Interiors, April 2021, illustrated p. 155.

Special notice

Specified lots (sold and unsold) marked with a filled square not collected from Christie’s, 8 King Street, London SW1Y 6QT by 5.00pm on the day of the sale will, at our option, be removed to Crozier Park Royal (details below). Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. If the lot is transferred to Crozier Park Royal, it will be available for collection on the third business day after the sale. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crozier Park Royal. All collections from Crozier Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s, 8 King Street, it will be available for collection on any working day (not weekends) from 9.00am to 5.00pm

Brought to you by

Benedict Winter Associate Director, Specialist

Lot Essay

The present lot relates to the designs of the London manufacturers Messrs. Parker and Perry. Founded by William Parker (d.1784) in Fleet Street, the business enjoyed the patronage of King and Court, ranging from George, Prince of Wales to William Beckford. Important commissions included those for the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth circa 1782-3 and a twenty-light chandelier for the Earl of Lincoln at Clumber Park and subsqeuntly owned by Nancy Lancaster at Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire which was sold Phillips, London, 12 February 1991, lot 137 (£126,500, including premium). After William Parker's death the firm continued under his son Samuel, who in 1803 formed a partnership with William Perry. The firm supplied chandeliers for Carlton House from 1808, those in the Crimson Drawing Room perhaps the ultimate expression of the Regency chandelier, and later for the Royal Pavilion at Brighton.

While the present lot conforms to conventional designs of the late 18th century, the distinctive S-shaped arms are particularly associated with the oeuvre of Parker and Perry, being a characteristic of the firm's neoclassical chandeliers (see M. Mortimer, The English Glass Chandelier, Woodbridge, 2000, p. 19, pls. 10, 48 and 53-55).

For comparable chandeliers see:

- The Property of the late Sir Emmanuel Kaye; sold Christie's, London, 29 November 2001 (£146,750, including premium).
- Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 25 April 2008, lot 40 ($109,000, including premium).
- Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 7 July 2011, lot 576 (£103,3250, including premium).
- Collection Juan de Beistegui; sold Christie's, Paris, 10 September 2018, lot 72 (€68,750, including premium).

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