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Lot Essay
The stands' pillars have 'claws' richly carved with cartouches of satyr-masks. They are reminiscent of earlier designs for bed-posts formerly at Hatfield and attributed to Thomas Chippendale. Bacchic lion masks also feature on the 'claw' of a candlestand drawing attributed to Thomas Chippendale in the Lock collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Candlestands executed to the pattern, attributed to Chippendale, were formerly at Denton Park (C. Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, vol. II, London, 1978, figs. 376 and 377). The present 'claws' are also carved with unusual layers of acanthus, shells, palms and more acanthus. They terminate, not in satyr hooves as might be expected, but in a form of boot resembling those on Manx tripod tables.
Syrie Maugham (1879-1955), married twice, second to the acclaimed playwright Somerset Maugham (1874-1965). Maugham's interest in interior decoration began during her stint working in the antiques department of Fortnum and Mason. She launched her decorating business in London's Baker Street in 1922, financed by the sale of her own house. Combining French art deco, with its eighteenth-century references, and European modernism, Maugham produced her own distinctive look of sleek, sophisticated, neutral interiors. 'With the strength of a typhoon she blew all colour before her ... for the next decade Syrie Maugham bleached, pickled or scraped every piece of furniture in sight' wrote Cecil Beaton. Above all, white became Maugham's signature. Her house in the King's Road, Chelsea, and the Villa Eliza in Le Touquet became society showrooms for her wares: Syrie was a renowned and well-connected hostess. Pursuing the lucrative American market, she furthered her influence by opening shops in New York, Chicago, Palm Beach, and Los Angeles.
Syrie Maugham (1879-1955), married twice, second to the acclaimed playwright Somerset Maugham (1874-1965). Maugham's interest in interior decoration began during her stint working in the antiques department of Fortnum and Mason. She launched her decorating business in London's Baker Street in 1922, financed by the sale of her own house. Combining French art deco, with its eighteenth-century references, and European modernism, Maugham produced her own distinctive look of sleek, sophisticated, neutral interiors. 'With the strength of a typhoon she blew all colour before her ... for the next decade Syrie Maugham bleached, pickled or scraped every piece of furniture in sight' wrote Cecil Beaton. Above all, white became Maugham's signature. Her house in the King's Road, Chelsea, and the Villa Eliza in Le Touquet became society showrooms for her wares: Syrie was a renowned and well-connected hostess. Pursuing the lucrative American market, she furthered her influence by opening shops in New York, Chicago, Palm Beach, and Los Angeles.