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Lot Essay
These demi-lune tables, with their intricate marquetry and delicate proportions, are part of the grand neoclassical transformation of Mersham-le-Hatch, an estate that exemplifies Georgian refinement. Commissioned by Sir Edward Knatchbull, the collaboration between the renowned designer Robert Adam and cabinet-maker Thomas Chippendale brought to life an elegant fusion of architectural grandeur and finely crafted furniture, seen particularly in the Saloon.
These striking demi-lune tables, with their delicate proportions and fanciful marquetry, form part of a larger, dynamic and monumental project that saw the refurbishment and decoration of the highly innovative Italianate house, Mersham-le Hatch, Kent. The ancestral seat of the Knatchbull family, the house stands as a singular expression of Georgian refinement, embodying the cultivated ambitions of a dynasty deeply attuned to the aesthetic currents of its age. Central to its significance is the patronage of Sir Edward Knatchbull, 7th Baronet, whose discerning eye aligned the estate with two of the 18th century’s most celebrated tastemakers: Robert Adam and Thomas Chippendale. Adam, the pre-eminent architect-designer of the Neoclassical movement, was commissioned in the 1770s to remodel the house- his architectural grammar — the harmonious proportions, delicate stucco ornament, and classical vocabulary drawn from his Grand Tour studies — found eloquent expression in the state rooms, particularly in the drawing room and library. To compliment his design, Chippendale was employed in the furnishings of the house; this uniquely homogeneous collaboration is revealed in the accounts of 1774 to 1778 when Lady Knatchbull consulted Adam about the Saloon's furnishings with Chippendale later sending a choice of designs for the room's pier glasses and a carpet corresponding to Adam's ceiling, the latter was supplied by Thomas Moore of Moorefields the following year. Chippendale's 1778 bill included '3 large window cornices made circular with antique ornaments, very neatly carved and gilt... £15.0.0, and these no doubt provided inspiration for the 'Adamite window cornices made in 1874 (Gilbert, p. 286, fig. 522 ascribed to Chippendale). Whilst the present tables do not appear in the Chippendale bill, no other payments to a major cabinet-maker at this time are recorded in the family accounts at Hoare's Bank.
This collaborative efforts of the two great English craftsmen is epitomised in the design of the present side tables – the inspiration for which, as with the rest of Chippendale’s furniture and Adam's colourful stucco ceilings - was provided by designs from Robert Wood. Each pier-table top, envisioned in the neo-classical manner to compliment Robert Adam's Saloon architecture, forms an oval when reflected in an accompanying mirror, and is inlaid with a golden-sunburst wreathed by a flowered guilloche and banded by a 'satin' rim. The frieze inlay comprises a double-link chain holding libation-paterae, whose 'Apollo' sunflower embellishment is taken from Wood's engraving of the sun-god's temple at Palmyra, published in 1753. The tapering 'term' legs are inlaid with trompe l'oeil flutes, in the 'antique' manner and terminate in concave-sided 'altar'-plinths inlaid with water-leaves. Indeed, these elegant side-tables stand both as a relic to the collaborative effort of two of England’s great visionary makers and equally as a stand-alone example of the refinement of Chippendale’s delicately ornate craftmanship.
These striking demi-lune tables, with their delicate proportions and fanciful marquetry, form part of a larger, dynamic and monumental project that saw the refurbishment and decoration of the highly innovative Italianate house, Mersham-le Hatch, Kent. The ancestral seat of the Knatchbull family, the house stands as a singular expression of Georgian refinement, embodying the cultivated ambitions of a dynasty deeply attuned to the aesthetic currents of its age. Central to its significance is the patronage of Sir Edward Knatchbull, 7th Baronet, whose discerning eye aligned the estate with two of the 18th century’s most celebrated tastemakers: Robert Adam and Thomas Chippendale. Adam, the pre-eminent architect-designer of the Neoclassical movement, was commissioned in the 1770s to remodel the house- his architectural grammar — the harmonious proportions, delicate stucco ornament, and classical vocabulary drawn from his Grand Tour studies — found eloquent expression in the state rooms, particularly in the drawing room and library. To compliment his design, Chippendale was employed in the furnishings of the house; this uniquely homogeneous collaboration is revealed in the accounts of 1774 to 1778 when Lady Knatchbull consulted Adam about the Saloon's furnishings with Chippendale later sending a choice of designs for the room's pier glasses and a carpet corresponding to Adam's ceiling, the latter was supplied by Thomas Moore of Moorefields the following year. Chippendale's 1778 bill included '3 large window cornices made circular with antique ornaments, very neatly carved and gilt... £15.0.0, and these no doubt provided inspiration for the 'Adamite window cornices made in 1874 (Gilbert, p. 286, fig. 522 ascribed to Chippendale). Whilst the present tables do not appear in the Chippendale bill, no other payments to a major cabinet-maker at this time are recorded in the family accounts at Hoare's Bank.
This collaborative efforts of the two great English craftsmen is epitomised in the design of the present side tables – the inspiration for which, as with the rest of Chippendale’s furniture and Adam's colourful stucco ceilings - was provided by designs from Robert Wood. Each pier-table top, envisioned in the neo-classical manner to compliment Robert Adam's Saloon architecture, forms an oval when reflected in an accompanying mirror, and is inlaid with a golden-sunburst wreathed by a flowered guilloche and banded by a 'satin' rim. The frieze inlay comprises a double-link chain holding libation-paterae, whose 'Apollo' sunflower embellishment is taken from Wood's engraving of the sun-god's temple at Palmyra, published in 1753. The tapering 'term' legs are inlaid with trompe l'oeil flutes, in the 'antique' manner and terminate in concave-sided 'altar'-plinths inlaid with water-leaves. Indeed, these elegant side-tables stand both as a relic to the collaborative effort of two of England’s great visionary makers and equally as a stand-alone example of the refinement of Chippendale’s delicately ornate craftmanship.