PROBABLY EMILIA, MID-18TH CENTURY, PROBABLY ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED IN PLAIN WALNUT

Details

A NORTH ITALIAN WHITE, GILT AND POLYCHROME JAPANNED BUREAU
PROBABLY EMILIA, MID-18TH CENTURY, PROBABLY ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED IN PLAIN WALNUT
The rectangular top above a slant front opening to a scarlet ground fitted interior over a freize drawer, the whole decorated throughout with Chinoiserie vignettes and cabriole legs
37 ½ in. (95.5 cm) high, 40 in. (101.5. cm.) wide, 20 ¾ in.(52.5 cm.) deep

Provenance

Purchased by Bernadine Murphy, Los Angeles on 10 November 1927 from Elsie de Wolfe ($1,100).

Special notice

Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

Elsie de Wolfe (1865-1950) was not only America’s first female interior decorator but was also one of the most celebrated and innovative personalities in the field of interior design. Early in her career, she pronounced 'I am going to make everything around me beautiful. That will be my life'. An intimate of the Duchess of Windsor, her dazzling array of clients included Anne Vanderbilt and Henry Clay Frick as well as a commission for Condé Nast which was one of her most celebrated decorating projects; its daring combination of modern decorations and 18th century furniture with rich Chinoiserie and floral wall treatments typified her ebullient approach. As a 1929 Vogue article on her own New York apartment remarked, 'Throughout, old things have been used in the modern manner-a paradox that is extremely effective'.

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