Lot Essay
This bookcase is part of a small group closely related in form and decoration attributed to the London cabinetmaking firm of John Mayhew (d. 1811) and William Ince (d. 1804). Another from this group is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (no.W-121-1924) (illustrated in M. Jourdain, Georgian Furniture, 1969, pl.126) and a further example from the collection of Mrs. David Gubbay and now at Clandon Park, Surrey is illustrated in J. Cornforth and G. Jackson-Stops, 'The Gubbay Collection at Clandon', Country Life, 29 April 1971, p. 104, fig. 2. A further bookcase formerly in the collection of Lord Henry Thynne was sold Christie's London, 9 June 1978, lot 187.
The use of finely engraved floral marquetry and large-scale 'antique' urns on a satinwood ground is characteristic of the work produced by Mayhew and Ince in the 1770's and 1780's (C. Gilbert and G. Beard, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, 1986, p. 593). A canted commode with similar inlay is illustrated in P. Macquoid, The Age of Satinwood, 1908, p. 160, fig. 144. A cabinet-on-stand with similar scalloped cornice and marquetry characteristic of the firm was offered Christie's London, 6 July 1989, lot 106.
The use of finely engraved floral marquetry and large-scale 'antique' urns on a satinwood ground is characteristic of the work produced by Mayhew and Ince in the 1770's and 1780's (C. Gilbert and G. Beard, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, 1986, p. 593). A canted commode with similar inlay is illustrated in P. Macquoid, The Age of Satinwood, 1908, p. 160, fig. 144. A cabinet-on-stand with similar scalloped cornice and marquetry characteristic of the firm was offered Christie's London, 6 July 1989, lot 106.