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Lot Essay
This pair of torcheres is derived from a French print of the late 17th century,a copy of which is held in the Rijksmuseum (RP-P-0B-8541). Created and engraved by the print maker, Alexis (I) Loir (1640-1713), and published by Nicolas Langlois of rue St. Jacques, Paris, the print was issued during the reign of Louis XIV, between circa 1650 and 1692. In the late 17th century, Loir gathered together some of his designs in his pattern book, Nouveaux desseins d’Ornemens, de Paneaux, Lambris, Carosse Etc., and the sculptural patterns for torcheres and other furniture items was widely adopted by carvers and other craftsmen, persisting well into the 18th century (see also lot 35 in this sale).
HINTON HOUSE, HINTON ST GEORGE
These torcheres were formerly in the collection of the Earls Poulett at Hinton House, Hinton St. George, Somerset, where they were photographed by Country Life in the gallery in July 1968, a few months prior to their sale by auction on the 1st November. They were probably made in circa 1730, a period when the Royal craftsman, Benjamin Goodison, was active, and acquired during the tenure of the 1st Earl Poulett. Interestingly, John Poulett, 2nd Earl (1708-1764) was ordering furniture from Matthias Lock in the mid-1740s, which included furniture in the Late Baroque idiom - a side table, now at Thorpe Underwood Hall, Yorkshire, a looking glass, now in the Victoria & Albert museum and a pair of candle stands (J.F. Hayward, ‘Furniture designed and carved by Mathias Lock for Hinton House, Somerset’, Connoisseur, January 1961, pp. 284-286; C.G. Winn, The Pouletts of Hinton St. George, London, 1976).
HINTON HOUSE, HINTON ST GEORGE
These torcheres were formerly in the collection of the Earls Poulett at Hinton House, Hinton St. George, Somerset, where they were photographed by Country Life in the gallery in July 1968, a few months prior to their sale by auction on the 1st November. They were probably made in circa 1730, a period when the Royal craftsman, Benjamin Goodison, was active, and acquired during the tenure of the 1st Earl Poulett. Interestingly, John Poulett, 2nd Earl (1708-1764) was ordering furniture from Matthias Lock in the mid-1740s, which included furniture in the Late Baroque idiom - a side table, now at Thorpe Underwood Hall, Yorkshire, a looking glass, now in the Victoria & Albert museum and a pair of candle stands (J.F. Hayward, ‘Furniture designed and carved by Mathias Lock for Hinton House, Somerset’, Connoisseur, January 1961, pp. 284-286; C.G. Winn, The Pouletts of Hinton St. George, London, 1976).