THE COLUMNS PROBABLY CIRCA 1760 AND POSSIBLY DESIGNED BY JOHN VARDY, THE TOPS AND FEET REGENCY

Details

A PAIR OF GEORGE III GILTWOOD TORCHERES
The columns probably circa 1760 and possibly designed by John Vardy, the tops and feet Regency
Each with later everted giltmetal basket top above a collar of overhanging laurel leaves and a turned shaft of tiered upright laurel, the stepped base with a moulded band of ivy and on a later concave-sided plinth and naturalistic paw feet
23½ in. (156 cm.) high, excluding gallery; 13¼ in. (34 cm.) diam. at base (2)

Provenance

Presumably the columns of these torcheres were acquired by the 5th Duke of Bolton (d.1765) and then converted into torcheres for William, 2nd Baron Bolton (1782-1850) at about the time that he altered Hackwood in 1810-13.

Special notice

VAT rate of 17.5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer’s premium.

Lot Essay

These torcheres seem to be an enigmatic survival of an 18th Century decorative scheme at Hackwood, converted into torcheres in the early 19th Century. There is evidence of some elaborate decoration in the entry in Vardy's bill of March 1763 (Hampshire Record Office, 11M49 468 (I)) to the Duke of Bolton. There is an entry 'To a Design for a Sopha for the Inside of the Alcove in the Drawing Room at Hackwood' which presumably refers to an alcove created by Vardy and which may have been elaborately decorated.

More from HACKWOOD PARK

View All