A GEORGE III MAHOGANY BREAKFRONT BOOKCASE

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A GEORGE III MAHOGANY BREAKFRONT BOOKCASE
The moulded dentilled breakfront cornice with triangular broken pediment centred by a central rectangular pedestal with moulded cornice, above a pair of astragal-glazed doors enclosing four adjustable mahogany-fronted shelves flanked by two further doors with corresponding glazing and each with three shelves, the moulded waist above a breakfront lower section with two tiers of four drawers with original lacquered-brass handles, flanked by a pair of rectangular panelled doors with fielded panels enclosing a plain interior, one with one mahogany-fronted adjustable shelf, the other with two mahogany- fronted adjustable shelves, on a moulded plinth base, the handles apparently original, two keys, the cornice moulding to the plinth in the pediment replaced
104 in. (264.2 cm.) high; 97½ in. (247.5 cm.) wide; 20¾ in. (53 cm.) deep

Provenance

Anonymous sale (The Property of a Gentleman), in these Rooms, 28 June 1979, lot 131.
Bought from Norman Adams, 24 February 1981.

Literature

C. Claxton Stevens and S. Whittington, 18th Century English Furniture, The Norman Adams Collection, Woodbridge, rev. ed., 1985, p. 190 ('This splendidly proportioned bookcase is constructed of first quality mahogany...').

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

This bookcase is designed in the George III Roman fashion with its dentilled temple-pediment centred by a pedestal for a bust and its reeded glazing bars trellised with lozenges and tablets in the Roman mosaic manner. Its 'Bookcase' pattern, with the exception of the central drawers, was published in Thomas Chippendale's Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 1754, pl. LXIII.
The pattern for 'picturesque' swagged handle, with pine-cone trellising, features in a Birmingham brass hardware catalogue (T.R. Crom, An Eighteenth Century English Brass Hardware Catalogue, Florida, 1994, p. 36, no. 256).

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