EIGHT CARVED HUNG MO PANELS

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In 1969, Christopher Cooke began his career in Beaconsfield, under the watchful eye of Cecil Brown, nephew of the great English furniture dealer, Harold Brown. Learning the fundamentals of restoration in this small workshop equipped Christopher with the necessary knowledge to attend the London College of Furniture to study modern furniture production and design. The lure of that workshop proved too great, however, and after the foundation year he returned to Cecil Brown where he remained for several years before moving to Penn to work for Francis Wigram. In the early 1970s Christopher was introduced to William Redford, one of the world's greatest continental furniture dealers. Here began a long and happy relationship and consistent and interesting work on wonderful furniture. For the first three or four years Christopher worked alone in a small but adequate workshop in Mount Street, Mayfair that was given to him by Mr Redford. In the mid-seventies, however, he moved to 8 Bourdon Street where he occupied a 2000 square foot workshop backing onto Berkeley Square and full of natural light - a magnificent space right in the centre of the antique trade. The following years saw a meteoric rise in business and he was soon employing up to ten young, enthusiastic craftsmen restoring a seemingly endless stream of fine French and continental furniture. Christopher's love affair with Chinese furniture started in the early 1980s, the very period in which western interest in classical Chinese furniture truly began to develop. His training and extensive experience in the restoration of traditional European furniture proved invaluable in these early days providing him both with the transferable skills and also the ingenuity required to tackle this new challenge. In the period of more than twenty years since then, Christopher has worked on a vast number of pieces, accumulating a wealth of knowledge and unrivalled expertise in this field. After eight busy years in Bourdon Street, Christopher bought the current location, Taybridge House, just off Lavender Hill in south London. With its private mews and large workshop at the rear it was to be an ideal location for the following 20 years. Furniture arrived at his workshop in a steady stream from Asia, North America and Europe and he became renowned as the leading restorer of Chinese furniture worldwide, with clients including museums, auction houses, major galleries and collectors. When the famous folding horseshoe chair in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts suffered its unfortunate accident in 2000, it was sent straight to Christopher to receive the care and attention it required. Christopher travels frequently to purchase supplies and materials, to offer advice or consultation, or simply to broaden the bounds of his own experience of traditional Chinese culture. The articles that he has written on various aspects of restoration have been published in specialist journals and catalogues, and he has given lectures and demonstrations for museums and associations. He is always happy to discuss his work and methods of restoration, and it gives him great pleasure to be able to answer questions and offer advice to others on any aspect of Chinese furniture.

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EIGHT CARVED HUNG MO PANELS
And three panels in a hong mu frame

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VAT rate of 17.5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer’s premium This lot is subject to Collection and Storage charges

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