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Lot Essay
THE EARLS OF CHESTERFIELD, BRETBY HALL AND CHESTERFIELD HOUSE
Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield, was the godson and adopted heir to the 4th Earl (d.1773), whose own son had died in 1768. The Stanhope's ancestral home was Bretby Hall, Derbyshire; the estate had been acquired in 1630 and a house built by Thomas Stanhope after his grandson Philip had been made Earl of Chesterfield by King Charles I.
The 4th Earl was an inveterate townsman spending time in London and on the continent after he was sent as envoy to the Hague in 1728. In fact he shunned Bretby, writing in 1725 when his own father was dying in the house, that it was a 'seat of horror and despair, where no creatures but ravens, screech owls and birds of ill omen seem willingly to dwell'. Thus he spent much of his time in London, where he built the mansion Chesterfield House on South Audley Street, Mayfair in 1748 - 49, employing the architect Isaac Ware, who rose to prominence under the patronage of Lord Burlington and whose Designs of Inigo Jones and Others was first published in 1731. The Palladian house was thought magnficent by the Earl's contemporaries, 'finished in the French style with abundance of sculptures and gilding', and is Ware's masterpiece; his subsequent Complete Body of Architecture, published in 1756, makes repeated references to the house.
The 5th Earl (d.1816) was a favoured companion to George III. In 1784 he became a member of the Privy Council, and was appointed Ambassador to Spain, a post he held until 1787, although he never actually visited the country, and was later Master of the Mint (1789 - 90). Unlike his godfather he was very much a man of the country, he was an enthusiast for hunting and delighted in superintending the operation of his estates. This enthusiasm is recorded in Thomas Weaver's picture of 1810 (previously Bretby Park, present location unknown), showing the Earl standing in a farmyard with his young son from his second marriage, George (afterwards the 6th Earl of Chesterfield), his agent and 'a prize heifer'. Chesterfield House remained the Earl's London townhouse and it seems that he was furnishing it subsequent to his marriage in 1777 to Anne Thistlethwaite (see below), but it was used less often.
Stanhope ultimately rebuilt Bretby in 1813 - 15, shortly before his own death. A new castellated mansion was designed by Jeffry Wyatt and much of the late 18th century furniture formerly at Chesterfield House was moved to Bretby where it was recorded in an inventory of 1817.
In 1849 Chesterfield House was let to the Earl of Abercorn, the 6th Earl having run up substantial debts, and by the time the 7th Earl died in 1871 the house has been sold to the banker Mr. Magniac. The remaining contents were removed to Bretby and later sold, at which time the bookcases were purchased by the London dealer Moss Harris, before being acquired by Viscount Leverhulme for his private house The Hill, Hampstead,
THE ATTRIBUTION TO MAYHEW & INCE
The bookcase, executed in golden satinwood and inlaid with marquetry of exotic woods, is designed in the elegant 'antique' style established by the country's leading Neo-classical architect, Robert Adam (d.1792), and is attributed to the fashionable Golden Square cabinet-makers John Mayhew (d.1811) and William Ince (d.1804) who ranked George III, the 6th Earl of Coventry, and the Earl of Kerry among their distinguished clients.
The attribution is based on the combination of stylistic features, particularly the finely engraved neoclassical marquetry that includes a full repertoire of motifs associated with the firm who were especially noted for their skill as marqueteurs. The shaded fan of the pediment, the ribbon-tied wreath centred by a classical urn, crossed palm fronds and corner spandrels displayed on the lower doors, and the drapery swags of the drawers are all motifs that feature on furniture attributed to their cabinet-workshop (see Lucy Wood, Catalogue of Commodes, London, pp. 195 – 203, no. 22; pp. 210 – 217, no. 24; pp. 217 – 221, no. 25; and pp. 222 – 225, no. 26). Beautifully carved husk swags are draped over roundels and cascade down the central doors, a feature that was often executed in marquetry. The serpentine form of the base seems to have been favoured by Mayhew and Ince, while the ebonised moulding appears to be a feature unique to the firm.
John Mayhew and William Ince established their partnership at premises in Golden Square, London, and became one of the leading cabinet-making firms in the latter part of the 18th century. In 1762 they issued their book of designs entitled, The Universal System of Household Furniture. Written in both French and English, their Parisian bent is clearly apparent at an early stage - no doubt keen to appear cosmopolitan and attract clients with French tastes, and so marquetry featured highly in their oeuvre.
Although clear evidence for the relationship between the Earl of Chesterfield and firm eludes us, the cabinets were among several pieces sold from the Bretby heirlooms that can be attributed to the firm. The present pair of cabinets was sold by George Edward Stanhope Molyneux, 5th Earl of Carnarvon (d.1923) and the Countess of Carnarvon, 'The Bretby Heirlooms, passing under the Wills of the 7th Earl of Chesterfield and the Dowager Countess of Chesterfield', Christie's, London, 29 - 30 May 1918, lot 136 (2150 gns), as was a marquetry commode of demi-lune outline also attributed to Mayhew and Ince (lot 135, 880 gns), the latter also purchased by Moss Harris and acquired by Viscount Leverhulme (Wood, op. cit., pp. 203 - 209, no. 23). A third ormolu-mounted satinwood commode with a scagliola top, probably originally supplied to celebrate the marriage of Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield, to Anne Thistlethwaite in 1777 was also included in the sale (lot 123, 380 gns, and sold again more recently 'On behalf of the 7th Earl of Harewood's 1967 Settlement. Formerly at Chesterfield House, the London house of the 6th Earl of Harewood K.G., and his wife Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Countess of Harewood', Christie's, London, 10 December, 2009, lot 845, £301,250 including premium).
Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield, was the godson and adopted heir to the 4th Earl (d.1773), whose own son had died in 1768. The Stanhope's ancestral home was Bretby Hall, Derbyshire; the estate had been acquired in 1630 and a house built by Thomas Stanhope after his grandson Philip had been made Earl of Chesterfield by King Charles I.
The 4th Earl was an inveterate townsman spending time in London and on the continent after he was sent as envoy to the Hague in 1728. In fact he shunned Bretby, writing in 1725 when his own father was dying in the house, that it was a 'seat of horror and despair, where no creatures but ravens, screech owls and birds of ill omen seem willingly to dwell'. Thus he spent much of his time in London, where he built the mansion Chesterfield House on South Audley Street, Mayfair in 1748 - 49, employing the architect Isaac Ware, who rose to prominence under the patronage of Lord Burlington and whose Designs of Inigo Jones and Others was first published in 1731. The Palladian house was thought magnficent by the Earl's contemporaries, 'finished in the French style with abundance of sculptures and gilding', and is Ware's masterpiece; his subsequent Complete Body of Architecture, published in 1756, makes repeated references to the house.
The 5th Earl (d.1816) was a favoured companion to George III. In 1784 he became a member of the Privy Council, and was appointed Ambassador to Spain, a post he held until 1787, although he never actually visited the country, and was later Master of the Mint (1789 - 90). Unlike his godfather he was very much a man of the country, he was an enthusiast for hunting and delighted in superintending the operation of his estates. This enthusiasm is recorded in Thomas Weaver's picture of 1810 (previously Bretby Park, present location unknown), showing the Earl standing in a farmyard with his young son from his second marriage, George (afterwards the 6th Earl of Chesterfield), his agent and 'a prize heifer'. Chesterfield House remained the Earl's London townhouse and it seems that he was furnishing it subsequent to his marriage in 1777 to Anne Thistlethwaite (see below), but it was used less often.
Stanhope ultimately rebuilt Bretby in 1813 - 15, shortly before his own death. A new castellated mansion was designed by Jeffry Wyatt and much of the late 18th century furniture formerly at Chesterfield House was moved to Bretby where it was recorded in an inventory of 1817.
In 1849 Chesterfield House was let to the Earl of Abercorn, the 6th Earl having run up substantial debts, and by the time the 7th Earl died in 1871 the house has been sold to the banker Mr. Magniac. The remaining contents were removed to Bretby and later sold, at which time the bookcases were purchased by the London dealer Moss Harris, before being acquired by Viscount Leverhulme for his private house The Hill, Hampstead,
THE ATTRIBUTION TO MAYHEW & INCE
The bookcase, executed in golden satinwood and inlaid with marquetry of exotic woods, is designed in the elegant 'antique' style established by the country's leading Neo-classical architect, Robert Adam (d.1792), and is attributed to the fashionable Golden Square cabinet-makers John Mayhew (d.1811) and William Ince (d.1804) who ranked George III, the 6th Earl of Coventry, and the Earl of Kerry among their distinguished clients.
The attribution is based on the combination of stylistic features, particularly the finely engraved neoclassical marquetry that includes a full repertoire of motifs associated with the firm who were especially noted for their skill as marqueteurs. The shaded fan of the pediment, the ribbon-tied wreath centred by a classical urn, crossed palm fronds and corner spandrels displayed on the lower doors, and the drapery swags of the drawers are all motifs that feature on furniture attributed to their cabinet-workshop (see Lucy Wood, Catalogue of Commodes, London, pp. 195 – 203, no. 22; pp. 210 – 217, no. 24; pp. 217 – 221, no. 25; and pp. 222 – 225, no. 26). Beautifully carved husk swags are draped over roundels and cascade down the central doors, a feature that was often executed in marquetry. The serpentine form of the base seems to have been favoured by Mayhew and Ince, while the ebonised moulding appears to be a feature unique to the firm.
John Mayhew and William Ince established their partnership at premises in Golden Square, London, and became one of the leading cabinet-making firms in the latter part of the 18th century. In 1762 they issued their book of designs entitled, The Universal System of Household Furniture. Written in both French and English, their Parisian bent is clearly apparent at an early stage - no doubt keen to appear cosmopolitan and attract clients with French tastes, and so marquetry featured highly in their oeuvre.
Although clear evidence for the relationship between the Earl of Chesterfield and firm eludes us, the cabinets were among several pieces sold from the Bretby heirlooms that can be attributed to the firm. The present pair of cabinets was sold by George Edward Stanhope Molyneux, 5th Earl of Carnarvon (d.1923) and the Countess of Carnarvon, 'The Bretby Heirlooms, passing under the Wills of the 7th Earl of Chesterfield and the Dowager Countess of Chesterfield', Christie's, London, 29 - 30 May 1918, lot 136 (2150 gns), as was a marquetry commode of demi-lune outline also attributed to Mayhew and Ince (lot 135, 880 gns), the latter also purchased by Moss Harris and acquired by Viscount Leverhulme (Wood, op. cit., pp. 203 - 209, no. 23). A third ormolu-mounted satinwood commode with a scagliola top, probably originally supplied to celebrate the marriage of Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield, to Anne Thistlethwaite in 1777 was also included in the sale (lot 123, 380 gns, and sold again more recently 'On behalf of the 7th Earl of Harewood's 1967 Settlement. Formerly at Chesterfield House, the London house of the 6th Earl of Harewood K.G., and his wife Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Countess of Harewood', Christie's, London, 10 December, 2009, lot 845, £301,250 including premium).