AN ORMOLU-MOUNTED BOIS SATINE BUREAU PLAT banded overall in tulipwood, with eared serpentine leather-lined top with ormolu border, the waved panelled frieze with two drawers, on cabriole legs with scrolled angle mounts, and foliate sabots, some of the mounts struck with the C couronné poinçon, branded EHB, Italian, mid-18th Century, altered circa 1830 in England by Edward Holmes Baldock who raised the frieze, altered the top, and added the mounts

Details
AN ORMOLU-MOUNTED BOIS SATINE BUREAU PLAT banded overall in tulipwood, with eared serpentine leather-lined top with ormolu border, the waved panelled frieze with two drawers, on cabriole legs with scrolled angle mounts, and foliate sabots, some of the mounts struck with the C couronné poinçon, branded EHB, Italian, mid-18th Century, altered circa 1830 in England by Edward Holmes Baldock who raised the frieze, altered the top, and added the mounts
51in. (129.5cm.) wide; 28¼in. (72cm.) high; 26in. (66cm.) deep

Lot Essay

The brand EHB is that of Edward Holmes Baldock (1777-1845), the celebrated English dealer in porcelain and furniture. Among his principal clients to whom he supplied French furniture and Sèvres porcelain were George IV, the Duke of Northumberland, the Duke of Buccleuch and William Beckford. He was appointed Purveyor of China, Earthenware and Glass to William IV from 1832-37 and Purveyor of China to Queen Victoria from 1838-1845.

Baldock was one of the most important dealers of his era, handling many of the most important items to come on the market, including the pair of cabinets made by Cucci for Louis XIV, sold in 1824 to the Duke of Northumberland. He also fulfilled a role similar to that of the 18th Century marchand mercier, both designing and possibly making furniture to client's orders. He appears to have carried out restorations on numerous pieces of furniture mainly of the Louis XV and Louis XVI eras and often to have placed his brand on them.

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