A GEORGE III BROWN-PAINTED PINE BOOKCASE

CIRCA 1780, PREVIOUSLY FITTED AND WITH CONSEQUENTIAL ALTERATIONS

Details

A GEORGE III BROWN-PAINTED PINE BOOKCASE
Circa 1780, previously fitted and with consequential alterations
In two sections, the upper section with leaf tip-molded cornice overhanging five rows of shelves, the shelves each with an engraved bone tag 1, 2, 3 or 4 respectively, above the outset base with eight doors with alternating oval and square wire-mesh apertures, some with similar engraved bone tags numbered 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 respectively, on a plinth
92¼in. (234cm.) high, 155in. (393.5cm.) long, 18¼in. (46.5cm.) deep

Provenance

Almost certainly supplied to Sir Thomas Dundas, later 1st Earl of Zetland, for Aske Hall, Yorkshire.
Thence by descent in the family at Aske Hall until sold Tennant's house sale, 20-22 September 1994, lot 1900.

Lot Essay

The bookcase is designed with open-fretted oval medallions in the 'Roman', or antique fashion, introduced around 1780 and popularised by George Hepplewhite's The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterers Guide, 1788. It is likely to have formed part of the furnishings introduced by Sir Thomas Dundas, later lst Earl of Zetland (d.1820) following his inheritance of Aske Hall, Yorkshire in 1781. It was also during the 1780s that he patronised the architect Henry Holland (d.1806), celebrated as architect to George, Prince of Wales, later George IV (see G. Worsley, 'Aske Hall', Country Life, 8 March 1990, pp.98-102).

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