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Lot Essay
The present lot, stamped ‘53299’ twice in green to the backrail, appears in the records of New York dealers French and Company. Interestingly, French & Co. describes the table as a ‘Chippendale style carved and gilt console table with marble top’ likened to the work of Thomas Johnson. It further describes the top as ‘porphyry red scagliola,’ indicating the marble on the present lot is later associated. The document mentions a Hamilton Palace provenance and also states that it was purchased it from ‘Miss B. Dinsha’ of 1081 Fifth Avenue, New York in 1953 for $1,000, thus tracing the history of this table to two significant yet ephemeral collections, since lost to time and circumstance.
Hamilton Palace
The table is almost certainly one of a pair sold in The Hamilton Palace Collection auction catalogue as lots 670 and 671 (Christie’s London, 17 June-20 July 1882). The tables, which have corresponding dimensions are described as ‘A Venetian Pier-Table’ (lot 670) and ‘The Companion Table’ (lot 671). The priced catalogue records that both tables were purchased by an unidentified ‘C.J. Ross’ for a total of £100 and 16s.
Hamilton Palace, situated approximately ten miles southeast of Glasgow, was the principal seat of the Dukes of Hamilton for nearly 300 years. It was at one time among the grandest stately homes in Great Britain, filled with exceptional furniture, magnificent paintings, and the finest decorative objects and antiquities rivaling those of the Royal Collection. Alexander, the 10th Duke of Hamilton (1767-1852), remembered for his princely taste and lavish spending, notably expanded the palace and embellished the collection with important works associated with Versailles and the Palazzo della Cancelleria as well as various kings, queens, emperors, dukes and cardinals. By the time of his death the palace was a treasure trove of almost unmatched splendor. By the last quarter of the 19th century, the majority of the family’s wealth had been squandered and the palace had fallen into a state of neglect. In order to save the family’s fortune, the dispersal of the core of the Hamilton Collections took place over two tremendous house sales at Christie’s London in 1882 and 1919. The 1882 sale in particular garnered substantial public interest on both sides of the Atlantic and can be argued as the first of truly global significance. Regarded as the sale of the century, many viewed it as an opportunity to witness and even safeguard one of the nation’s finest art collections. It was indeed an unparalleled success. The 2,213 lots raised a record total of £397,562 0s 6d, one that would not be matched for another 30 years.
Despite the successful auctions, the cost of restoration for Hamilton Palace, which had lost its structural integrity due to subsidence from excessive coalmining on the grounds, remained too exorbitant and it was thus demolished in the 1920s. Christie's sale of the Hamilton Palace Collection remains amongst the greatest auctions of furniture and works of art ever carried out, with many pieces now belonging to important museum and private collections.
1081 Fifth Avenue
‘Miss B. Dinsha’ refers to Bachoo Dinshaw (Countess Bachoobai Woronzow-Dashkow, 1914-2003). Bachoo and her brother Edulji Dinshaw (1916-1970) belonged to a prominent Parsi family from Mumbai and settled in New York shortly before World War II. They bought a townhouse at 1081 Fifth Avenue, which Edulji filled with a well-appointed collection of remarkable museum quality furniture, porcelain and decorative objects of significant historical importance. Unfortunately, the townhouse was razed around 1960 to make way for 1080 Fifth Avenue, which stands in its place today.
Hamilton Palace
The table is almost certainly one of a pair sold in The Hamilton Palace Collection auction catalogue as lots 670 and 671 (Christie’s London, 17 June-20 July 1882). The tables, which have corresponding dimensions are described as ‘A Venetian Pier-Table’ (lot 670) and ‘The Companion Table’ (lot 671). The priced catalogue records that both tables were purchased by an unidentified ‘C.J. Ross’ for a total of £100 and 16s.
Hamilton Palace, situated approximately ten miles southeast of Glasgow, was the principal seat of the Dukes of Hamilton for nearly 300 years. It was at one time among the grandest stately homes in Great Britain, filled with exceptional furniture, magnificent paintings, and the finest decorative objects and antiquities rivaling those of the Royal Collection. Alexander, the 10th Duke of Hamilton (1767-1852), remembered for his princely taste and lavish spending, notably expanded the palace and embellished the collection with important works associated with Versailles and the Palazzo della Cancelleria as well as various kings, queens, emperors, dukes and cardinals. By the time of his death the palace was a treasure trove of almost unmatched splendor. By the last quarter of the 19th century, the majority of the family’s wealth had been squandered and the palace had fallen into a state of neglect. In order to save the family’s fortune, the dispersal of the core of the Hamilton Collections took place over two tremendous house sales at Christie’s London in 1882 and 1919. The 1882 sale in particular garnered substantial public interest on both sides of the Atlantic and can be argued as the first of truly global significance. Regarded as the sale of the century, many viewed it as an opportunity to witness and even safeguard one of the nation’s finest art collections. It was indeed an unparalleled success. The 2,213 lots raised a record total of £397,562 0s 6d, one that would not be matched for another 30 years.
Despite the successful auctions, the cost of restoration for Hamilton Palace, which had lost its structural integrity due to subsidence from excessive coalmining on the grounds, remained too exorbitant and it was thus demolished in the 1920s. Christie's sale of the Hamilton Palace Collection remains amongst the greatest auctions of furniture and works of art ever carried out, with many pieces now belonging to important museum and private collections.
1081 Fifth Avenue
‘Miss B. Dinsha’ refers to Bachoo Dinshaw (Countess Bachoobai Woronzow-Dashkow, 1914-2003). Bachoo and her brother Edulji Dinshaw (1916-1970) belonged to a prominent Parsi family from Mumbai and settled in New York shortly before World War II. They bought a townhouse at 1081 Fifth Avenue, which Edulji filled with a well-appointed collection of remarkable museum quality furniture, porcelain and decorative objects of significant historical importance. Unfortunately, the townhouse was razed around 1960 to make way for 1080 Fifth Avenue, which stands in its place today.