ATTRIBUTED TO THOMAS CHIPPENDALE, CIRCA 1765-70

Details

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY CLOTHES PRESS
ATTRIBUTED TO THOMAS CHIPPENDALE, CIRCA 1765-70
The rectangular moulded cornice above a pair of panelled doors enclosing five slides above two short and two long drawers with S-pattern keyholes, on shaped bracket feet, the key original
76½ in. (194 cm.) high; 47 in. (119.5 cm.) wide; 24 in. (61 cm.) deep

Provenance

Acquired from John Hopkins Antiques and Fine Arts, Cuckfield, Sussex, 13 August 1987.
Anonymous sale, Christie's, London, 23 May 2012, lot 259.

Special notice

Specified lots (sold and unsold) marked with a filled square not collected from Christie’s by 5.00 pm on the day of the sale will, at our option, be removed to Cadogan Tate. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Cadogan Tate Ltd. All collections will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.

Brought to you by

Toby Woolley

twoolley@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2227

Lot Essay

This handsome mahogany press can be confidently attributed to the St Martin's Lane cabinet-maker Thomas Chippendale on both stylistic and technical grounds. Its uncomplicated form reflects a style promoted by Chippendale in his Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director first published in 1754. The distinctive 'S-pattern' keyholes were favoured by Chippendale and were a speciality of the Gascoigne family of St.James's (see C.Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, London, 1978, vol. II, fig. 267). The thin red wash over secondary timbers was employed on a number of pieces of restrained mahogany furniture at Dumfries House, Ayrshire, which were attributed to 'The Dumfries House Cabinet-Maker' - possibly Thomas Chippendale (included in the Dumfries House Christie's sale catalogue, 12-13 July 2007, among them lots 106, 236, 251 and 252).

A very similar clothes press was sold Christie's, London, 29 April 2010, lot 27 (£13,125 including premium).

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