Lot Essay
This table is nearly identical to one commissioned by George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield for Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire and now in a private collection in England (illustrated in R. Edwards and P. Macquoid, The Dictionary of English Furniture, rev.edn., 1954, vol. III, p. 284, fig. 31). A closely related table is illustrated in F. Lenygon, The Decoration and Furniture of English Mansions During the XVII and XVIII Centuries, p. 47.
Ditchley Park was designed by James Gibbs (circa 1720), while the interiors were carried out under the direction of Henry Flitcroft, William Kent and contractors, Francis and William Smith. A schedule among the Ditchley papers shows that Flitcroft executed designs for five table frames for Lord Lichfield in 1740-1741 (Oxford Record Office, #DIL.1/p/3a). Certainly, Flitcroft would have been inspired by his colleague, William Kent. Both men received the patronage of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, who was a major influence in introducing the 'antique' style to England in the 1720's, and Flitcroft will have succeeded Kent in his role as Master Mason and Deputy Surveyor of the Office of Works under George II.
The sphinx, which are nymph-headed lions and the chimaerical invention of the ancient poets, feature on Roman palace ceilings which Kent studied during his tour of Italy in 1717. Related figures appear in a Kent design of 1725 for Sir Robert Walpole's saloon at Houghton Hall, Norfolk for a sideboard-table. The table as executed features acanthus-supported sphinx confronting Sir Robert Walpole's Garter wreathed badge (illustrated in M. Wilson, William Kent, figs. 32 and 36). Kent's design for five silver chandeliers for George II (published in J. Vardy, Designs of Mr. Inigo Jones and Mr. William Kent, 1744) features the same recumbent sphinxes and flaming sacred urns. One of these chandeliers was sold by Hubert de Givenchy, Christie's Monaco, 4 December 1993, lot 95.
Ditchley Park was designed by James Gibbs (circa 1720), while the interiors were carried out under the direction of Henry Flitcroft, William Kent and contractors, Francis and William Smith. A schedule among the Ditchley papers shows that Flitcroft executed designs for five table frames for Lord Lichfield in 1740-1741 (Oxford Record Office, #DIL.1/p/3a). Certainly, Flitcroft would have been inspired by his colleague, William Kent. Both men received the patronage of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, who was a major influence in introducing the 'antique' style to England in the 1720's, and Flitcroft will have succeeded Kent in his role as Master Mason and Deputy Surveyor of the Office of Works under George II.
The sphinx, which are nymph-headed lions and the chimaerical invention of the ancient poets, feature on Roman palace ceilings which Kent studied during his tour of Italy in 1717. Related figures appear in a Kent design of 1725 for Sir Robert Walpole's saloon at Houghton Hall, Norfolk for a sideboard-table. The table as executed features acanthus-supported sphinx confronting Sir Robert Walpole's Garter wreathed badge (illustrated in M. Wilson, William Kent, figs. 32 and 36). Kent's design for five silver chandeliers for George II (published in J. Vardy, Designs of Mr. Inigo Jones and Mr. William Kent, 1744) features the same recumbent sphinxes and flaming sacred urns. One of these chandeliers was sold by Hubert de Givenchy, Christie's Monaco, 4 December 1993, lot 95.