A REGENCY ORMOLU-MOUNTED EBONY, MAHOGANY AND FIDDLE-BACK MAHOGANY BREAKFRONT SIDE CABINET

Details

A REGENCY ORMOLU-MOUNTED EBONY, MAHOGANY AND FIDDLE-BACK MAHOGANY BREAKFRONT SIDE CABINET
The tripartite breakfront grey bardiglio marble top above a panelled and reeded frieze enclosing three mahogany-lined drawers and one simulated drawer mounted with stiff-leaf rosette handles, the central breakfront doors with brass trellis and gold pleated-silk lining, enclosing two shelves, flanked by panelled pilaster strips and a further door to each side with gold pleated-silk lining mounted with a husk-trailed X-shaped grille with central domed rosette, the grained plinth probably replaced, with pencil inscription to the reverse Repaired March 10 1892
150¾in. (383cm.) wide; 49¼in. (125cm.) high; 28¾in. (73cm.) deep

Provenance

Probably supplied to John, 2nd Marquess of Bute (1793-1848), either for Cardiff Castle circa 1818 or for Luton Park circa 1825-1830.

Lot Essay

This marble-topped commode, with sunk-panelled pilasters and brass-trellised doors upholstered in silk, reflects the French fashion popularised by Thomas Sheraton's Cabinet Dictionary, 1803. With its dove-grey marble top, it relates to the drawing-room commode supplied by Messrs. Nicholas Morel and Robert Hughes of Great Marlborough Street to Weston Park, Staffordshire in 1806 ('The remodelling of Weston Park', Furniture History Society Journal, 1987, p.34, fig. 10).

This 'Grecian' cabinet's monumental scale is shared with the pair of 'antique' side cabinets, embellished with Egyptian herms supplied to Robert Ferguson for Raith Park, Fife circa 1806 (to be sold at Christie's London on the 4 July 1996, lot 228).

More from Works of Art from the Bute Collection

View All