CIRCA 1760, POSSIBLY BY WILLIAM VILE AND JOHN COBB

This serpentine chest-of-drawers is likely to be by William Vile (1700/05-67) and John Cobb (1715-78), who were in partnership between 1751 and 1764. Vile was initially apprenticed to William Hallett Snr. (1730-67), and an ornate version of the distinctive lion-mask handle found on the chest-of-drawers offered here is featured on a cabinet-on-chest, inscribed in pencil ‘William Hallett 1763 Long Acre’ (sold Christie’s, New York, 14 October 2009, lot 54, $218,500 inc. premium). Hallett was to become a financial backer for Vile and Cobb when they set up on their own. Thus, it is interesting to note that lion-mask handles/side handles are related to commodes associated with Cobb when he became an independent cabinet-maker. Examples of these include: a pair of chest-of-drawers from Harewood House, Yorkshire, (sold separately Christie’s South Kensington, 9 December 2012, lot 1187 and 30 April 2015, lot 137). Although, it is uncertain when these entered the collection, Cobb was prolific in Yorkshire in the 1760s with commissions at Holme Hall, Campsall Hall, Cannon Hall and Cusworth Hall (ed. G. Beard, C. Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers: 1660-1840, Leeds, 1986, p. 182). Another, clearly associated with Cobb and featuring lion-mask handles to the side, but with 'French'-drawer handles was exhibited by Norman Adams Ltd., at the Art Treasures Exhibition, Bath, 1958.