CIRCA 1770, ATTRIBUTED TO INCE AND MAYHEW

This striking neoclassical torchère or tripod stand is closely related to several examples produced by the renowned London firm of cabinet makers, Ince & Mayhew. Of the documented examples illustrated in H. Roberts and C. Cator, Industry and Ingenuity: The Partnership of William Ince and John Mayhew, London, 2022, pp. 394-396, it is pl. 419 that is closest, being of near identical form to the example offered here. That stand, now lacking the serpent ornament, is one of a set of four supplied to the Earl of Exeter for Burleigh House, Lincolnshire in April 1768 '4 Tripods for the Hall, very richly Carv'd and Gilt...' invoiced at the princely sum of £120; the set remains in the collection at Burleigh (ibid. p. 93), also illustrated is a pair of torchères, also from a set of four, of similar design which were supplied to the Earl of Kerry in 1772, which retain the complexly carved serpent to the base (ibid. pl. 421) - interestingly the invoice for the latter states '...Gilt in the best double two Colour'd Burnish'd Gold', suggesting a scheme similar to that presently employed to the Ombersley tripod stand. Further comparison can be drawn with the stand for a Sèvres ewer and basin carved in mahogany for the Earl of Coventry, (ibid. p. 394, pls. 417 & 418).