An English ormolu-mounted birchwood, satinwood and marquetry-inlaid bureau plat

THE MARQUETRY BY HENRY AHRENS, RETAILED BY MORANT BOYD MORANT & CO., LONDON, DATED 1868

Details

An English ormolu-mounted birchwood, satinwood and marquetry-inlaid bureau plat
The marquetry by Henry Ahrens, Retailed by Morant Boyd Morant & Co., London, Dated 1868
Of serpentine outline, the top inset with a shaped plum-coloured leather writing surface, within a border inlaid with scrolling foliage, signed and dated H. Ahrens 1868, with acanthus-cast edge, above shaped sides, the front with central marquetry-inlaid drawer, flanked to each side by a pair of similarly-inlaid drawers, the back with a central inlaid drawer, flanked to each side by a cupboard, the sides inlaid with a panel of scrolling foliage, on shaped square tapering legs headed by foliate-cast clasps, on scrolled foliate-cast feet, the underside twice stencilled MORANT BOYD MORANT/.. NEW BOND STREET/LONDON
48¼ in. (122.5 cm.) wide; 29 in. (73.7 cm.) high; 26¼ in. (86.6 cm.) deep

Lot Essay

The well known firm of Morant, Boyd & Morant was established in 1790 by George Morant (d. 1846) at 88 New Bond Street, London. It continued to flourish and expand throughout the 19th century. By 1852 the firm was known as Morant & Boyd and had premises at 91 New Bond Street, and by 1858 they had moved to 81 New Bond Street. In that same year they supplied furniture to William Duckworth at Orchard Leigh Park, Frome, which was later sold at Christie's House sale, 21 & 22 September 1987, lots 99-101 and 243.

The specialist inlayer or marqueteur Henry Ahrens (d. 1883) had moved his workshops to 25 Val-Sainte-Catherine, Paris, in 1856.

A pair of tables, signed H. Ahrens, formerly in the J. Pierpoint Morgan Collection, were sold in these rooms, 16 June 1994, lot 200.

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