A SET OF SIX GEORGE II-STYLE MAHOGANY DINING-CHAIRS

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Hambleden Manor, Buckinghamshire: Property from the Collection of Maria Carmela, Viscountess Hambleden (Lots 140-473) The un-spoilt and picturesque village of Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, with its brick and flint cottages and medieval church is the setting for a gabled Elizabethan Manor House. The home until earlier this year of Lady Hambleden, is one of the best known and preserved historic interiors by the "Prince of Decorators", John Fowler. Now as one chapter at Hambleden draws to a close and another opens up, Christie's is honoured to collaborate with Maria Carmela, Viscountess Hambleden in bringing the contents to South Kensington this summer. The daughter of Count Bernardo Attolico di Adelfia of Rome, Maria Carmela moved to England upon the occasion of her marriage to William Henry, 4th Viscount Hambleden, in 1955. Lord Hambleden's Victorian ancestor (whose widow was created Viscountess Hambleden in 1891, a month after his death) was the famous W.H. Smith, principal founder of the family stationary and bookselling business and both Disraeli's First Lord of the Admiralty and Lord Salisbury's Leader of the House of Commons. Initially owning land in Devon, he later expanded his holdings by purchasing the historic Greenlands estate near Henley which included Culham, Ewdon and the village (but not the Manor House) of Hambleden. He also enlarged Greenlands itself, a stucco faced Italianate mansion next to the Thames which remained the family's seat until 1946 when the 3rd Viscount moved to the nearby Hambleden Manor, purchased by his father the 2nd Viscount in 1923. Built in 1603 by Lord Scrope, the gabled Manor House at Hambleden had descended through various families during its illustrious history, including the 6th Earl of Cardigan whose son James (the future 7th Earl), famous for leading the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, was born there in 1797. In the 19th century it was owned by the Scott Murrays of Danesfield and between 1924 and 1946 was tenanted. The 3rd Viscount, who succeed upon the death of his father in 1928, and was married to Lady Patricia Herbert (daughter of the 15th Earl of Pembroke), died in 1948. His son, the 4th Viscount and his new Italian bride, Maria Carmela, decided to restore and embellish the old Manor House in 1955 in line with the best of contemporary fashion. Lady Hambleden's warmth, spirit and flair filled the interiors of the quintessential English Manor House, created together with the formidable talents of the renowned decorator John Fowler. A young and stylish woman, Lady Hambleden brought her own vision of style to bear on the interiors. John Fowler had been to Italy in the early years of the 1950s, visiting a number of Palladian Villas in the Veneto region. It was fortuitous that upon his return Lady Hambleden became his first major decorating commission of the period and his first Italian client. Recommended by the Hambledens' cousins, the Pembrokes of Wilton, John Fowler had already made a name for himself as a modern and resourceful decorator of the English Country House and the project became a meeting of minds. The collaboration resulted in some of the best known and widely illustrated of Fowler's interiors. Lady Hambleden retains the most treasured items of her collection and now lives in a beautifully restored cottage within the grounds of the Hambleden village estate. We hope the furniture, paintings and works of art offered here inspire a new generation of collectors.

A SET OF SIX GEORGE II-STYLE MAHOGANY DINING-CHAIRS

19TH CENTURY

Details

A SET OF SIX GEORGE II-STYLE MAHOGANY DINING-CHAIRS
19TH CENTURY
Comprising: two armchairs and four side chairs, two with printed paper label
The armchairs: 40 in. (101.5 cm.) high; 25 in. (63.5 cm.) wide (6)

Literature

D. Ogilvy, 'Golden Age', House & Garden, June 1994, p. 117.

Special notice

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