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Lot Essay
The arched central plate framed by pilasters of this overmantel mirror is related to two pier-mirrors by the Royal glass-maker John Gumley which were supplied for Hampton Court Palace, circa 1715 (C. Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1660-1740, Leeds, 1996, p. 252). Another overmantel mirror, designed to be inset into room panelling was included in The Age of Walnut exhibition, London, 1932, p. 28. The latter overmantel mirror featured the same Corinthian pilasters with divided plates framing variously-sized mirror plates.
The mirror is thought to have come from Nottingham Castle, the building of which was begun by William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle in 1674 under the Lincolnshire mason, Samuel Marsh. It was built in the Italianate Mannerist style with plentiful horizontal rustications, reminiscent of the Mannerist architect working mainly in Genoa, Galeazzo Alessi (1512-1572). The 1st Duke died in 1676 and was survived by his son, Henry Cavendish who died in 1691 without a male heir. The Castle and estates then passed to his great-nephew, Thomas Pelham-Holles, who in 1715 was created Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (of the 2nd creation). By 1718, following his successful work at Newcastle House, Lincoln's Inn Fields, he employed the architect John Vanbrugh to carry out internal alterations to Nottingham Castle.
The Gentleman's Magazine (n.d., but after 1731) described the interiors of the castle as 'rooms of noble dimension, and as furnished in a half modern style ... and cabinets of the time of Louis XIV; the dining room and suite adjoining as containing some good family pictures' several of them being inserted into the wall panelling (T. C. Hine, Nottingham and its Castle, Nottingham, 1876, p. 24).
It is conceivable that this overmantel mirror was introduced into Nottingham Castle at the time of Vanbrugh's internal remodelling, following Thomas Pelham-Holles's elevation to the Dukedom. In October 1831, Nottingham Castle was dramatically besieged and partially burned by rioters protesting against the House of Lords rejection of the Reform Bill. Presumably the mirror was removed and restored at this point and again in 1888.
The mirror is thought to have come from Nottingham Castle, the building of which was begun by William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle in 1674 under the Lincolnshire mason, Samuel Marsh. It was built in the Italianate Mannerist style with plentiful horizontal rustications, reminiscent of the Mannerist architect working mainly in Genoa, Galeazzo Alessi (1512-1572). The 1st Duke died in 1676 and was survived by his son, Henry Cavendish who died in 1691 without a male heir. The Castle and estates then passed to his great-nephew, Thomas Pelham-Holles, who in 1715 was created Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (of the 2nd creation). By 1718, following his successful work at Newcastle House, Lincoln's Inn Fields, he employed the architect John Vanbrugh to carry out internal alterations to Nottingham Castle.
The Gentleman's Magazine (n.d., but after 1731) described the interiors of the castle as 'rooms of noble dimension, and as furnished in a half modern style ... and cabinets of the time of Louis XIV; the dining room and suite adjoining as containing some good family pictures' several of them being inserted into the wall panelling (T. C. Hine, Nottingham and its Castle, Nottingham, 1876, p. 24).
It is conceivable that this overmantel mirror was introduced into Nottingham Castle at the time of Vanbrugh's internal remodelling, following Thomas Pelham-Holles's elevation to the Dukedom. In October 1831, Nottingham Castle was dramatically besieged and partially burned by rioters protesting against the House of Lords rejection of the Reform Bill. Presumably the mirror was removed and restored at this point and again in 1888.