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拍品專文
This bureau plat is part of a distinguished group of Louis XV-style furniture of identical form and closely related gilt-bronze mounts found in at least three prestigious 19th century British collections, although it differs from the group with its veneer of fine Boulle marquetry. Previously thought to have been French of the Louis Philippe or Napoleon III period, recent research suggests that they are more probably English and 19th century.
A pair of very similar rosewood bureau plat is in the collection of the dukes of Buccleuch and were almost certainly acquired by Walter Francis, 5th Duke of Buccleuch (d. 1884), one of the richest landowners in Britain. With a large number of properties to furnish including Dalkeith and Bowhill, the 5th Duke would have acquired his bureaux after his coming of age in the 1820s when he commenced a period of considerable expenditure on building, decorating and collecting.
Another virtually identical kingwood bureau plat was in the collection of the earls of Normanton at Somerley, Hampshire, recorded by Country Life in the Picture Gallery in 1958; this model was probably acquired by Welbore Ellis Agar, 2nd Earl of Normanton (d. 1868) who had the opulent Picture Gallery built in 1850 to display his splendid works of art. A further bureau plat was acquired by Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt (d. 1904) for Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow, Ireland (sold Christie’s, London, 24-25 September 1984, lot 489). These three prominent aristocrats were contemporaneous collectors with collections that exemplify the lavish taste of the period. Several additional examples are known:
-Two bureau plat of similar design illustrated in C. Payne, 19th Century European Furniture, Woodbridge, 1981, pp. 108-109.
-Another bureau plat in finely veneered wood marquetry depicting hunting and village-life scenes sold Christie’s, Paris, 17 June 2003, lot 166.
-Another sold Sotheby’s, Villa Demidoff, near Florence, 21-24 April 1969, lot 235.
-The only other bureau plat in Boulle marquetry, like the present lot, sold Christie's, New York, 26 October 1993, lot 383, and subsequently, Christie's, New York, 28 October 2003, lot 187.
Intriguingly, none of the group bears a maker or retailer’s mark or label, although they were almost certainly made by the same London-based firm such as Messrs. Town & Emanuel of 103 New Bond Street who traded as furniture makers and ‘curiosity’ dealers (M. Westgarth, 'Dictionary of Nineteenth Century Antique & Curiosity Dealers’, Regional Furniture, vol. XXIII, 2009, pp. 174-175). The firm pioneered expensive, high quality Boulle or 'buhl’ marquetry in the decorative 'French ornament’ revivalist style from 1830; their elaborate trade label describes them as 'Manufacturers of Buhl Marqueterie, Riesener & Carved Furniture, Tripods, Screens . Of the Finest & Most Superb Designs of the Times of Louis XIV…’ (F. Collard, 'Town & Emanuel’, Furniture History, vol. 32 , 1996, pp. 81-89). After 1849, the firm was succeeded by Toms and Luscombe; Josiah Toms was a former assistant to Town & Emanuel, who with his partner, William Luscombe, purchased and continued the business from the same premises.
The 1851 census shows that Toms & Luscombe, one of the larger firms, employed five cabinet-makers, two 'buhl’ cutters, two polishers and four brass finishers; they would also have ‘bought-in’ Boulle marquetry panels from other specialist firms. In 1855, they contributed to the furnishing of Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s residence on the Isle of Wight, and in the 1862 International Exhibition, London were among the foremost makers and exhibitors of fine French furniture. In the catalogue they are listed as exhibitor 5839 and awarded a medal for ‘Buhl cabinets and tables for good design and workmanship’. J.B. Waring in Masterpieces of Industrial Art & Sculpture, 1862 includes a chromolithograph of their work (plate 252), which shows a table and cabinet commissioned by the Earl of Craven. The firm continued to produce Buhl furniture until about 1870 after which date it fell out of fashion. Interestingly, the 5th Duke of Buccleuch was a patron of Town & Emanuel in the 1830s, a circular occasional table with the firm’s trade label is noted in the V & A furniture department files as from the Buccleuch collection, sold by Christie’s in 1946 (Collard, op. cit., p. 84). By association, the 5th Duke almost certainly patronised Toms & Luscombe. Furthermore, the pair of bureau plat in the collection of the 2nd Earl of Normanton was acquired from Toms & Luscombe in 1871 although intriguingly the 7th Viscount Powerscourt is believed to have purchased his bureau plat from the equally fine cabinet-maker and retailer, Wright & Mansfield, also of Bond Street.
A pair of very similar rosewood bureau plat is in the collection of the dukes of Buccleuch and were almost certainly acquired by Walter Francis, 5th Duke of Buccleuch (d. 1884), one of the richest landowners in Britain. With a large number of properties to furnish including Dalkeith and Bowhill, the 5th Duke would have acquired his bureaux after his coming of age in the 1820s when he commenced a period of considerable expenditure on building, decorating and collecting.
Another virtually identical kingwood bureau plat was in the collection of the earls of Normanton at Somerley, Hampshire, recorded by Country Life in the Picture Gallery in 1958; this model was probably acquired by Welbore Ellis Agar, 2nd Earl of Normanton (d. 1868) who had the opulent Picture Gallery built in 1850 to display his splendid works of art. A further bureau plat was acquired by Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt (d. 1904) for Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow, Ireland (sold Christie’s, London, 24-25 September 1984, lot 489). These three prominent aristocrats were contemporaneous collectors with collections that exemplify the lavish taste of the period. Several additional examples are known:
-Two bureau plat of similar design illustrated in C. Payne, 19th Century European Furniture, Woodbridge, 1981, pp. 108-109.
-Another bureau plat in finely veneered wood marquetry depicting hunting and village-life scenes sold Christie’s, Paris, 17 June 2003, lot 166.
-Another sold Sotheby’s, Villa Demidoff, near Florence, 21-24 April 1969, lot 235.
-The only other bureau plat in Boulle marquetry, like the present lot, sold Christie's, New York, 26 October 1993, lot 383, and subsequently, Christie's, New York, 28 October 2003, lot 187.
Intriguingly, none of the group bears a maker or retailer’s mark or label, although they were almost certainly made by the same London-based firm such as Messrs. Town & Emanuel of 103 New Bond Street who traded as furniture makers and ‘curiosity’ dealers (M. Westgarth, 'Dictionary of Nineteenth Century Antique & Curiosity Dealers’, Regional Furniture, vol. XXIII, 2009, pp. 174-175). The firm pioneered expensive, high quality Boulle or 'buhl’ marquetry in the decorative 'French ornament’ revivalist style from 1830; their elaborate trade label describes them as 'Manufacturers of Buhl Marqueterie, Riesener & Carved Furniture, Tripods, Screens . Of the Finest & Most Superb Designs of the Times of Louis XIV…’ (F. Collard, 'Town & Emanuel’, Furniture History, vol. 32 , 1996, pp. 81-89). After 1849, the firm was succeeded by Toms and Luscombe; Josiah Toms was a former assistant to Town & Emanuel, who with his partner, William Luscombe, purchased and continued the business from the same premises.
The 1851 census shows that Toms & Luscombe, one of the larger firms, employed five cabinet-makers, two 'buhl’ cutters, two polishers and four brass finishers; they would also have ‘bought-in’ Boulle marquetry panels from other specialist firms. In 1855, they contributed to the furnishing of Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s residence on the Isle of Wight, and in the 1862 International Exhibition, London were among the foremost makers and exhibitors of fine French furniture. In the catalogue they are listed as exhibitor 5839 and awarded a medal for ‘Buhl cabinets and tables for good design and workmanship’. J.B. Waring in Masterpieces of Industrial Art & Sculpture, 1862 includes a chromolithograph of their work (plate 252), which shows a table and cabinet commissioned by the Earl of Craven. The firm continued to produce Buhl furniture until about 1870 after which date it fell out of fashion. Interestingly, the 5th Duke of Buccleuch was a patron of Town & Emanuel in the 1830s, a circular occasional table with the firm’s trade label is noted in the V & A furniture department files as from the Buccleuch collection, sold by Christie’s in 1946 (Collard, op. cit., p. 84). By association, the 5th Duke almost certainly patronised Toms & Luscombe. Furthermore, the pair of bureau plat in the collection of the 2nd Earl of Normanton was acquired from Toms & Luscombe in 1871 although intriguingly the 7th Viscount Powerscourt is believed to have purchased his bureau plat from the equally fine cabinet-maker and retailer, Wright & Mansfield, also of Bond Street.