INSCRIBED DD. MORGAN 1803, PROBABLY FOR A DONOR

Details

AN GEORGE III BRASS SIX-LIGHT CHANDELIER
Inscribed Dd. Morgan 1803, probably for a donor
The pierced double-S suspension-ring above a baluster and inverted cup stem and cental orb with channelled collar issuing six S-scrolled branches with barbed scrolls, dished drip-pans and oval nozzles above a tapering boss, drilled for electricity
19 in. (48.5 cm.) high, approximately; 26 in. (66 cm.) diameter

Provenance

Bought from Jellinek and Sampson at The Antique Dealers' Fair, Grosvenor House, 29 June 1976.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

R. Gentle and R. Field date similar chandeliers to circa 1755-1770 which suggests that the inscription on this one is for a donor rather than a maker (R. Gentle and R. Field, English Domestic Brass, London, 1975, p. 142). Such inscriptions are recorded on chandeliers donated to churches, for example that donated to St Mary's Church, Cheltenham, by Edmund Smith in 1738 (C. Gilbert, Furniture at Temple Newsam House and Lotherton Hall, Leeds, 1978, vol. I, p. 115, no. 117). Donation inscriptions are not exclusive to churches as they appear on chandeliers from other institutions, such as that from the Royal Bridewell Hospital, presented in 1757 by Sir Richard Glyn and sold by the Hospital's Trustees, Sotheby's London, 10 July 1987, lot 21.
See also the footnote to lot 76 in this sale.

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