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Lot Essay
The chronology of the decoration of Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire is a complex one, wrought by much change and fragmentary decoration. Alongside this were furniture commissions with some of the most distinguished cabinet-makers of the 18th and 19th centuries, including Vile & Cobb (in 1753), William Gomm (1764), William Hallett (1768) and Bradshaw & Smith (1791 - 92).
Several generations left building projects unfinished and when James Henry Leigh (1765-1823) inherited, he too embarked on a series of ambitious building works. Between 1813 and 1823, Leigh employed the architect C. S. Smith to build stables and a new long gallery. Throughout the same period, he spent an astonishing £13,664 on furniture, porcelain, glass, pictures and other furnishings.
Foremost among those that supplied furniture were the London cabinet-maker George Oakley, and Gillows of Lancaster and London, both of whom were at the forefront of fashionable Regency taste. The latter supplied some 20 or more items in 1813 - 14, their invoice sent from 176 Oxford Street dated 10 December 1814 stating `G & R.Gillow & Co agreeably ...(?) the request of Mr. Leigh have the honour to present to him their account which they hope will be found correct'. The first items listed in the account are;
To a Capital Mahogany Library Table
the top cov'd with russia leather, on turned
legs and castors to do............23 guineas........24. 3. 0
To 2...Do....Do .......................21 guineas........44. 2. 0
The total account came to £238. 8. 11.
The tables are designed in robust style, the legs turned and boldly reeded in what was virtually Gillows' house style at the time, the magnificent `boulle' inlaid rosewood library desk supplied to William Powlett, 2nd Baron Bolton for Hackwood Park, Hampshire, also in 1813, had similar supports at the corners. Russia leather refers to a particular process that produced supple and sweet-smelling hides, and was widely used for upholstery in the 18th century, and in the 19th century embossed Russia leather was still recommended by Loudon for library tabletops ( Clive Edwards, Encyclopaedia of Furnishing Textiles, Floorcoverings and Home Furnishing Practices, 1200 - 1950, Aldershot, 2007, pp. 182 - 3).
There have been periodic sales of furniture from Stoneleigh Abbey over the years, including at Christie's, London, 15 - 16 October 1981, largely 18th century furniture including items supplied by William Gomm around 1764, and again 8 June 2006, including Regency furniture by Oakley, John Johnstone and Gillows. The latter included a pair of brass-mounted ebonised X-frame stools (lot 22) also identified in Gillows' 1814 account (at a cost of £4. 18.0) and when sold they bore the same distinctive `LL' stamp displayed on the present lot. Another pair of amboyna sofa tables bearing the same stamp, possibly by John Johnstone and dating from the same period, was sold at Lawrences, Crewkerne, 18 January 2013, lot 2028 (£28,060 including premium).
Several generations left building projects unfinished and when James Henry Leigh (1765-1823) inherited, he too embarked on a series of ambitious building works. Between 1813 and 1823, Leigh employed the architect C. S. Smith to build stables and a new long gallery. Throughout the same period, he spent an astonishing £13,664 on furniture, porcelain, glass, pictures and other furnishings.
Foremost among those that supplied furniture were the London cabinet-maker George Oakley, and Gillows of Lancaster and London, both of whom were at the forefront of fashionable Regency taste. The latter supplied some 20 or more items in 1813 - 14, their invoice sent from 176 Oxford Street dated 10 December 1814 stating `G & R.Gillow & Co agreeably ...(?) the request of Mr. Leigh have the honour to present to him their account which they hope will be found correct'. The first items listed in the account are;
To a Capital Mahogany Library Table
the top cov'd with russia leather, on turned
legs and castors to do............23 guineas........24. 3. 0
To 2...Do....Do .......................21 guineas........44. 2. 0
The total account came to £238. 8. 11.
The tables are designed in robust style, the legs turned and boldly reeded in what was virtually Gillows' house style at the time, the magnificent `boulle' inlaid rosewood library desk supplied to William Powlett, 2nd Baron Bolton for Hackwood Park, Hampshire, also in 1813, had similar supports at the corners. Russia leather refers to a particular process that produced supple and sweet-smelling hides, and was widely used for upholstery in the 18th century, and in the 19th century embossed Russia leather was still recommended by Loudon for library tabletops ( Clive Edwards, Encyclopaedia of Furnishing Textiles, Floorcoverings and Home Furnishing Practices, 1200 - 1950, Aldershot, 2007, pp. 182 - 3).
There have been periodic sales of furniture from Stoneleigh Abbey over the years, including at Christie's, London, 15 - 16 October 1981, largely 18th century furniture including items supplied by William Gomm around 1764, and again 8 June 2006, including Regency furniture by Oakley, John Johnstone and Gillows. The latter included a pair of brass-mounted ebonised X-frame stools (lot 22) also identified in Gillows' 1814 account (at a cost of £4. 18.0) and when sold they bore the same distinctive `LL' stamp displayed on the present lot. Another pair of amboyna sofa tables bearing the same stamp, possibly by John Johnstone and dating from the same period, was sold at Lawrences, Crewkerne, 18 January 2013, lot 2028 (£28,060 including premium).