Lot Essay
A closely related fire grate featuring the distinctive heraldic wyverns and open columns was supplied by David Robertson, circa 1760 to Lord Dumfries for Dumfries House. En suite with a fender, andirons amd fire-irons, the ensemble was invoiced at £10.12s.8d.
The heraldically-charged grate-basket is conceived in Thomas Chippendale's Director's 'Modern' fashion. Its stand is supported on rectangular altar-pedestals crowned by urn-capped Tuscan cluster-columns, while its frieze features picturesque scrolls of Roman acanthus guarded by wyverns. The form was further popularized by the Stove Grate Maker William Glossop in his 1771 Treasury of Original and Fashionable Designs (see C. Gilbert and A. Wells-Cole, The Fashionable Fireplace, 1985 figs. 35-55).
The heraldically-charged grate-basket is conceived in Thomas Chippendale's Director's 'Modern' fashion. Its stand is supported on rectangular altar-pedestals crowned by urn-capped Tuscan cluster-columns, while its frieze features picturesque scrolls of Roman acanthus guarded by wyverns. The form was further popularized by the Stove Grate Maker William Glossop in his 1771 Treasury of Original and Fashionable Designs (see C. Gilbert and A. Wells-Cole, The Fashionable Fireplace, 1985 figs. 35-55).