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Lot Essay
Frames of this type were exhibited at the 1862 International Exhibition, the Art Journal noting alongside the illustrated frames that 'It is difficult by engraving to convey an idea of the elegance of these objects'. Mr. W.E. Sanders of Queen Anne Street, London, the designer and craftsman, was continuing a long tradition of using leather for decorative purposes. While embossed leather cuir bouilli for walls, chairs, caskets and books was prevalent across Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, by the 19th century objects most commonly found included small mirror and picture frames. The most notable closely resembled wood carving and as in the present examples have to be examined closely to distinguish them from wood. In fact when the frame decorated with crustaceans appeared in the sale of the Lamplugh Collection from where it was acquired by the collector, Edward Pinto, it was described as a wood carving, 'a carved wood Group of Crustaceans, the frame also carved with festoons of shells and woods' (Sotheby's London, 'Interesting Contents of the Old Court House, Hampton Court, Middlesex', 18-29 October 1938, part lot 282). In 1954, in an article on 19th century ornamental leather work, much of which was dedicated to these frames, the author noted their 'remarkably homogeneous composition', the finesse and 'richness of the ornament' (R. Lee, 'Ornamental leather work of the nineteenth century', Apollo, August 1954, pp. 34-35). In that period although the whereabouts of the crustaceans frame was known, the companion example was not. The former, on loan from Mr. Pinto, was included in the 1962 Centenary Exhibition by the Victoria & Albert Museum.