ATTRIBUTED TO WILLIAM AND GEORGE BULLOCK, CIRCA 1815

The design for the base of this gueridon is possibly the earliest example of the close collaboration between William Bullock (circa 1773-1849) and his better-known brother, George (1782/3-1818). The design patent was registered by William under the Garrard Act of 21 June 1798, ‘An Act for encouraging the Art of making new Models and Casts of Busts, and other Things therein mentioned’ (M. Levy, ‘The Roman Gallery at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, and some tripods by William Bullock and George Bullock’, Furniture History Society, vol. 33, 1997, p. 237). Inspired by antiquity, and made fashionable in early 19th century publications by, for example, Percier and Fontaine and Thomas Hope, the form illustrates a design at the forefront of Grand Tour-inspired taste (ibid.). The present gueridon is closely related to a pair of tripod stands supplied in 1814 by George Bullock to Samuel J. Day of Hinton House, near Bath, now in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. These ‘bronzed Griffin tripods’, according to a statement dated 28 December 1814, had been invoiced on 18 June 1814 at a cost of £18 18s. The ‘2 Circular Do. [bronzed] Pedestals to stand upon’ cost £4 4s’ (ibid., p. 236). The legs of each of the Hinton House tripods are stamped ‘W. BULLOCK PUB. 1 JUNE 1805’. Furthermore, a tripod, seemingly of the same design, is featured in an engraving of circa 1813 of the interior of William’s newly opened Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly (ibid., fig. 5). However, the inclusion of ‘PUB’ rather than ‘INV’ or ‘INVENIT’ on this stamp suggests it may have been George rather than William, who originally designed and probably modelled these supports (R. Edwards, ‘George Bullock and Sculpture’, Connoisseur, July 1969, p. 172). This is reinforced by a very similar tripod design by George in the Wilkinson Tracings (Levy, op. cit., p. 235, fig. 7). Interestingly, lot 80 of ‘The Whole of the Finished Stock Of that highly ingenious Artist, Mr. George Bullock, Dec.’ is possibly a similar gueridon/tripod stand, described as, ‘A tripod-stand, supported by cast-metal eagle silvered standards, with a small circular statuary marble top, 2 ft. 8 high’ (‘Mr. Christie, on the premises, No. 4 Tenterden Street, Hanover Square’, 3 May 1819).
The predominant stone of the statuary marble gueridon top is possibly English porphyry from St. Austell in Cornwall, known as Elvan. Alternatively, it could have originated from the Mona marble works, which were owned by George Bullock. The Bullock sale catalogue dated 3 May 1819 refers to ‘porphyry-coloured Mona Marble’, ‘Mona porphyry’ and ‘red Mona marble’ (lots 59, 60 and 47). Likewise, the encircling bands of verde antico are probably from the same marble works. It 1811, this was described as, ‘a beautiful Green Stone which is found in a part of the island of Angelsea the property of Mr George Bullock’, and in the 1819 catalogue is mentioned as ‘green Mona’ or ‘Mona, verde antique marble’ (lots 50, 61). The central roundel is possibly a piece of Derbyshire black marble inlaid with coloured hardstones to form butterflies in the Florentine fashion.
Another table with specimen marble top, of the same scale and with virtually identical supports is illustrated in H. Blairman & Sons Ltd., Furniture and Works of Art, 1996, no. 8. The latter had a Derbyshire provenance and was by repute a gift from the 6th Duke of Devonshire, although the marbles in the top are Italian rather than British. Another specimen marble and ebony centre table with related supports was offered Christie’s, London, 10 May 2006, lot 55.