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Lot Essay
THE LINNELL ATTRIBUTION
This extraordinary mirror is conceived as a Chinese garden with rocks, dripping cascades and grottos. Its fretwork bridge, trellised canopy and smaller platforms were intended for porcelain figures to be reflected in the watery surface of the mirror ground. The 'jardin Chinois' style was introduced in English landscaped parks by ambitious patrons such as Lady Beaufort, who also created the celebrated Chinese Bedroom Apartment at Badminton House, Gloucestershire. The Badminton suite, supplied by William and John Linnell in 1752-53, was accompanied by a mirror of notably similar design and featured a remarkable seated pagod above the arched canopy. The suite, including the mirror, was sold by the 9th Duke of Beaufort at Christie's in 1921. The mirror was subsequently purchased by Doris Duke in 1965 and sold from the Doris Duke collection, Christie's, New York, 3-5 June 2004, lot 442, where it established a record breaking price ($1,575,500).
William Linnell, a specialist carver, established his workshop in Longacre and later moved to his fashionable premises at Berkeley Square. He was joined by his son, John, in 1749. John had trained as an artist in the St. Martin's Lane Academy to become the firm's designer. John Linnell's watercolor drawing of a chair in the Badminton suite, now at the Victoria and Albert Museum, was one of his first major responsibilities as a designer for his father's firm. Although no other designs by Linnell survive, it is reasonable to assume that he was responsible for the remaining furniture in the apartment. A closely related mirror drawing by Linnell with similar platforms for mounting Chinese porcelain and centered by a 'pagod' figure is reproduced in H. Hayward, 'The Drawings of John Linnell in the Victoria and Albert Museum', Furniture History, 1969, fig. 142. Another, which can be identified with the accompanying pier-glass in the Chinese Bedroom, is illustrated in H. Hayward and P. Kirkham, op.cit., vol. II, p. 94, fig. 181.
A further mirror, virtually identical to the Bath example, is in the Irwin Untermyer Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (illustrated in Y. Hackenbroch, English Furniture with some furniture of other countries in the Irwin Untermyer Collection, Cambridge, MA, 1958, pl. 143, fig. 172). The Untermyer mirror retains its original seated pagod suggesting that this mirror may have once had such a figure as well. Another of related design appears in the Drawing Room at Wardour Castle, Wiltshire (Country Life, 29 November 1930, p. 681, fig. 9). Further examples include: One in L. Synge, Malletts Great English Furniture, London, 1991, p. 95, fig. 105; another from the The Hochschild Collection, sold Sotheby's, London, 1 December 1978, lot 52 and later Sotheby's, London, 16 November 1984, lot 100; and most recently, one formerly in the Archibald Stirling of Keir collection, sold Christie's, London, 8 July 2010, lot 124 (£199,250).
THE PROVENANCE
The mirror is likely to have been commissioned by the courtier and politician Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth and later 1st Marquess of Bath (1734-1796), probably for one of his London residences.
After succeeding his father in 1751, Lord Weymouth is known to have embarked on costly improvements to the family's seat at Longleat in Wiltshire. In 1759, he married Elizabeth Cavendish (d. 1825), eldest daughter of the 2nd Duke of Portland. This aristocratic union was seen favorably by the Royal Court. The following year, when George III took the throne, Weymouth was appointed Lord of the Bedchamber (1760-63) and later Master of the Horse, while his wife was named Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte (1761-93).
A gifted speaker, as well as handsome and patrician, Weymouth's career in politics was marked by his appointments as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and Secretary of State, although he was not without his detractors. Interestingly, he was an avid Tory sympathizer like his contemporary the 4th Duke of Beaufort, who commissioned the Badminton mirror. Still, his propensity for drink, gambling and extravagant spending nearly caused his downfall. Horace Walpole was rather unforgiving when he recalled: "He ruined his tradesmen without remorse, and, if that was an excuse, without thought; and with equal indifference frequently saw bailiffs in his house" (Memoirs of the reign of King George the Third, vol. 4, p. 160).
Scant information is available regarding Lord Weymouth's London homes during the time that this mirror would have been commissioned. After his father's death, he assumed the lease at 33 Craven Street where he is recorded making payments as late as 1756. Rent payments in 1757-1758 place him in fashionable Hill Street off Berkeley Square. There are no records to indicate whether he and Lady Weymouth remained at Hill Street in their early years of marriage but by 1763 (until 1769), they were residing at Schomberg House in Pall Mall. Other properties at Arlington Street, Wimbledon and Ealing followed.
Sadly, there are also no surviving inventories for any of the London properties. Nor are there inventories for his son, the 2nd Marquess (d. 1837). The mirror first appears in a valuation of the furniture and effects at No. 48 Berkeley Square following the death of the 4th Marquess and dating from August 1896, where it was located in the Boudoir. The entry reads:
"Gilt Chippendale chimney glass with brackets for china and gallery, floral and bell mounts"
The 5th Marquess purchased 29 Grosvenor Square in 1903, where the mirror was hung until it was sold by Sotheby's in 1940. It then appeared in one of England's most stately of homes - Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire - then owned by Ronald Tree, an American brought up and educated in England. Tree bought Ditchley in 1934, along with some of its contents. He and his wife, the legendary decorator Nancy Lancaster (partner to John Fowler at Colefax and Fowler), undertook a extensive redecoration of the house in keeping with the interior architecture. The Trees sold Ditchley in 1947, however the mirror is depicted in a watercolor of the Drawing Room dated 1950 executed by the Russian society artist Alexandre Serebriakoff. The mirror was removed to New York until sold from the estate of his second wife, Marietta, at Christie's in 1992.
We are extremely grateful to Kate Harris, Curator of the Longleat Historic Collections, for her kind assistance with the preparation of this note.
This extraordinary mirror is conceived as a Chinese garden with rocks, dripping cascades and grottos. Its fretwork bridge, trellised canopy and smaller platforms were intended for porcelain figures to be reflected in the watery surface of the mirror ground. The 'jardin Chinois' style was introduced in English landscaped parks by ambitious patrons such as Lady Beaufort, who also created the celebrated Chinese Bedroom Apartment at Badminton House, Gloucestershire. The Badminton suite, supplied by William and John Linnell in 1752-53, was accompanied by a mirror of notably similar design and featured a remarkable seated pagod above the arched canopy. The suite, including the mirror, was sold by the 9th Duke of Beaufort at Christie's in 1921. The mirror was subsequently purchased by Doris Duke in 1965 and sold from the Doris Duke collection, Christie's, New York, 3-5 June 2004, lot 442, where it established a record breaking price ($1,575,500).
William Linnell, a specialist carver, established his workshop in Longacre and later moved to his fashionable premises at Berkeley Square. He was joined by his son, John, in 1749. John had trained as an artist in the St. Martin's Lane Academy to become the firm's designer. John Linnell's watercolor drawing of a chair in the Badminton suite, now at the Victoria and Albert Museum, was one of his first major responsibilities as a designer for his father's firm. Although no other designs by Linnell survive, it is reasonable to assume that he was responsible for the remaining furniture in the apartment. A closely related mirror drawing by Linnell with similar platforms for mounting Chinese porcelain and centered by a 'pagod' figure is reproduced in H. Hayward, 'The Drawings of John Linnell in the Victoria and Albert Museum', Furniture History, 1969, fig. 142. Another, which can be identified with the accompanying pier-glass in the Chinese Bedroom, is illustrated in H. Hayward and P. Kirkham, op.cit., vol. II, p. 94, fig. 181.
A further mirror, virtually identical to the Bath example, is in the Irwin Untermyer Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (illustrated in Y. Hackenbroch, English Furniture with some furniture of other countries in the Irwin Untermyer Collection, Cambridge, MA, 1958, pl. 143, fig. 172). The Untermyer mirror retains its original seated pagod suggesting that this mirror may have once had such a figure as well. Another of related design appears in the Drawing Room at Wardour Castle, Wiltshire (Country Life, 29 November 1930, p. 681, fig. 9). Further examples include: One in L. Synge, Malletts Great English Furniture, London, 1991, p. 95, fig. 105; another from the The Hochschild Collection, sold Sotheby's, London, 1 December 1978, lot 52 and later Sotheby's, London, 16 November 1984, lot 100; and most recently, one formerly in the Archibald Stirling of Keir collection, sold Christie's, London, 8 July 2010, lot 124 (£199,250).
THE PROVENANCE
The mirror is likely to have been commissioned by the courtier and politician Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth and later 1st Marquess of Bath (1734-1796), probably for one of his London residences.
After succeeding his father in 1751, Lord Weymouth is known to have embarked on costly improvements to the family's seat at Longleat in Wiltshire. In 1759, he married Elizabeth Cavendish (d. 1825), eldest daughter of the 2nd Duke of Portland. This aristocratic union was seen favorably by the Royal Court. The following year, when George III took the throne, Weymouth was appointed Lord of the Bedchamber (1760-63) and later Master of the Horse, while his wife was named Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte (1761-93).
A gifted speaker, as well as handsome and patrician, Weymouth's career in politics was marked by his appointments as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and Secretary of State, although he was not without his detractors. Interestingly, he was an avid Tory sympathizer like his contemporary the 4th Duke of Beaufort, who commissioned the Badminton mirror. Still, his propensity for drink, gambling and extravagant spending nearly caused his downfall. Horace Walpole was rather unforgiving when he recalled: "He ruined his tradesmen without remorse, and, if that was an excuse, without thought; and with equal indifference frequently saw bailiffs in his house" (Memoirs of the reign of King George the Third, vol. 4, p. 160).
Scant information is available regarding Lord Weymouth's London homes during the time that this mirror would have been commissioned. After his father's death, he assumed the lease at 33 Craven Street where he is recorded making payments as late as 1756. Rent payments in 1757-1758 place him in fashionable Hill Street off Berkeley Square. There are no records to indicate whether he and Lady Weymouth remained at Hill Street in their early years of marriage but by 1763 (until 1769), they were residing at Schomberg House in Pall Mall. Other properties at Arlington Street, Wimbledon and Ealing followed.
Sadly, there are also no surviving inventories for any of the London properties. Nor are there inventories for his son, the 2nd Marquess (d. 1837). The mirror first appears in a valuation of the furniture and effects at No. 48 Berkeley Square following the death of the 4th Marquess and dating from August 1896, where it was located in the Boudoir. The entry reads:
"Gilt Chippendale chimney glass with brackets for china and gallery, floral and bell mounts"
The 5th Marquess purchased 29 Grosvenor Square in 1903, where the mirror was hung until it was sold by Sotheby's in 1940. It then appeared in one of England's most stately of homes - Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire - then owned by Ronald Tree, an American brought up and educated in England. Tree bought Ditchley in 1934, along with some of its contents. He and his wife, the legendary decorator Nancy Lancaster (partner to John Fowler at Colefax and Fowler), undertook a extensive redecoration of the house in keeping with the interior architecture. The Trees sold Ditchley in 1947, however the mirror is depicted in a watercolor of the Drawing Room dated 1950 executed by the Russian society artist Alexandre Serebriakoff. The mirror was removed to New York until sold from the estate of his second wife, Marietta, at Christie's in 1992.
We are extremely grateful to Kate Harris, Curator of the Longleat Historic Collections, for her kind assistance with the preparation of this note.