Lot Essay
This mirror is conceived in the French style popularised by Daniel Marot (d.1752), architect to King William III in his Nouveaux Livre d'Ornements (1700), and Oeuvres (1712). The mirror may have been supplied by James Moore (d.1726), whose partner John Gumley (d.1728) owned a glass manufactury in Vauxhall and fashionable showrooms in the Strand. A mirror at Hampton Court Palace inscribed with Gumley's name, which is closely related to a design in Marot's Nouveaux Livre, is illustrated in R.Edwards, Georgian Cabinet-Makers, 1955, fig.16). A similar pair of was supplied by James Moore for the Duke of Marlborough's family apartments at Blenhem Palace Oxfordshire (see S.Griffiths, 'The Private Apartment at Blenheim Palace', House and Garden, November 1955, p.129).
This mirror was almost certainly commissioned by Thomas Lord Coningsby (d.1729) who succeeded to the estate in 1671 and began making alterations to the building and interiors when he came of age in 1680. London for his outspoken views, was elected Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire in 1715 and created Earl in 1717 (J.Cornforth, 'Hampton Court, Herefordshire-I, II and III', Country Life, 22 February-8 March 1973, pp.450-453, 518-521 and 582-585). The mirror may have been sold in 1912 when Hampton Court and many of its contents were sold to a new owner, or in 1924 when the property was acquired by the 17th Viscount Hereford. A mirror 'formerly from Hampton Court', possibly this mirror, which retains its original carved elements and Lord Coningsby's coronet, is illustrated in H.A.Tipping, Old English Furniture, 1928, fig.47. The same mirror is illustrated in P.Macquoid and R.Edwards, eds., he Dictionary of English Furniture, vol.II, 1924, p.317, fig.25 ('from Hampton Court, Leominster'). It does not appear in the Philips house sale of 21-33 June 1972.
This mirror was almost certainly commissioned by Thomas Lord Coningsby (d.1729) who succeeded to the estate in 1671 and began making alterations to the building and interiors when he came of age in 1680. London for his outspoken views, was elected Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire in 1715 and created Earl in 1717 (J.Cornforth, 'Hampton Court, Herefordshire-I, II and III', Country Life, 22 February-8 March 1973, pp.450-453, 518-521 and 582-585). The mirror may have been sold in 1912 when Hampton Court and many of its contents were sold to a new owner, or in 1924 when the property was acquired by the 17th Viscount Hereford. A mirror 'formerly from Hampton Court', possibly this mirror, which retains its original carved elements and Lord Coningsby's coronet, is illustrated in H.A.Tipping, Old English Furniture, 1928, fig.47. The same mirror is illustrated in P.Macquoid and R.Edwards, eds., he Dictionary of English Furniture, vol.II, 1924, p.317, fig.25 ('from Hampton Court, Leominster'). It does not appear in the Philips house sale of 21-33 June 1972.