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Lot Essay
This magnificent and unusual fire screen compares closely in its design and decorative details to the documented oeuvre of the Royal cabinet-maker James Moore the Elder (d. 1726). Similar berried branches feature on the side tables now at Buckingham Palace (T. Murdoch, 'The king's cabinet-maker: the giltwood furniture of James Moore the Elder', The Burlington Magazine, June 2003, p. 409, fig. 5). The same berried jasmine tendrils appear on the stands (signed 'Moore') supplied for Hampton Court Palace (see R. Edwards and M. Jourdain, Georgian Cabinet-makers, London, 1955, pl. 26); and broad lively scrolls enclosing hatchwork on a table from Harcout House of circa 1724 (T. Murdoch, op. cit., fig. 20). The overall floral-and-strapwork design appears to be a leitmotif of Moore and central ovals, often displaying heraldic attributes, also figure prominently in his work.
PERCIVAL GRIFFITHS
The collection formed by Percival D. Griffiths, F.S.A (d. 1938), under the wise counsel of R. W. Symonds is considered to be the greatest collection of English furniture formed in the last century. Assembled over the course of thirty years, the process of refinement resulted in what Symonds rightly calls ‘an assemblage of the most perfect pieces of walnut and mahogany dating from the reigns of Queen Anne, George I and George II’ (R. W. Symonds, 'Percival Griffiths, F.S.A.: A Memoir on a Great Collector of English Furniture', The Antique Collector, November-December 1943, pp. 163-169). Griffiths ushered in a new appreciation for skilled craftsmanship, design and original patinated surfaces. Even at the time of Symond’s memoir, Griffiths provenance became the benchmark of excellence for collectors as it continues to do today.
The interiors of Griffiths home at Sandridgebury are happily recalled in 'Sandridgebury: The Country Residence of Percival D. Griffiths', published by Symonds in Antiques, March 1931, pp. 193-196 in which this fire screen can be seen in the far room. It was Griffiths' collection that provided the content for Symonds' seminal work English Furniture from Charles II to George II, 1929.
PERCIVAL GRIFFITHS
The collection formed by Percival D. Griffiths, F.S.A (d. 1938), under the wise counsel of R. W. Symonds is considered to be the greatest collection of English furniture formed in the last century. Assembled over the course of thirty years, the process of refinement resulted in what Symonds rightly calls ‘an assemblage of the most perfect pieces of walnut and mahogany dating from the reigns of Queen Anne, George I and George II’ (R. W. Symonds, 'Percival Griffiths, F.S.A.: A Memoir on a Great Collector of English Furniture', The Antique Collector, November-December 1943, pp. 163-169). Griffiths ushered in a new appreciation for skilled craftsmanship, design and original patinated surfaces. Even at the time of Symond’s memoir, Griffiths provenance became the benchmark of excellence for collectors as it continues to do today.
The interiors of Griffiths home at Sandridgebury are happily recalled in 'Sandridgebury: The Country Residence of Percival D. Griffiths', published by Symonds in Antiques, March 1931, pp. 193-196 in which this fire screen can be seen in the far room. It was Griffiths' collection that provided the content for Symonds' seminal work English Furniture from Charles II to George II, 1929.