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Lot Essay
This beautifully mounted bowl is an important rediscovery from the celebrated collection of Colonel H. H. Mulliner (1861-1924). A collector of exceptional discernment, Mulliner devoted himself to assembling a comprehensive survey of English decorative arts, intended to trace their development from the Restoration of the mid-17th century to the early years of George III, a period then notably underrepresented in national collections such as the Victoria and Albert Museum. At the time, his collection was widely regarded as one of the most significant contributions yet offered to the study of English decorative art.
The bowl was subsequently in the collection of Sir Humphrey Wyndham Cook (1893-1978). A shy and notably modest figure, Cook inherited a considerable fortune at the age of twelve following the death of his father, proprietor of the wholesale drapery firm Cook Son & Co. of St. Paul’s Churchyard. Beyond his activities as a collector, Cook played a significant role in British motor racing. In 1933, together with Raymond Mays and Peter Berthon, he co-founded English Racing Automobiles (E.R.A.), serving as its managing director, principal financier, and one of its drivers. Under his direction, the E.R.A. voiturette cars achieved notable success during the 1930s, competing against the dominant state-sponsored German Grand Prix teams. Cook is also credited with introducing British Racing Green to international motorsport. He appears to have acquired several objects from the Mulliner collection, and it is plausible that the two men were personally acquainted, particularly given Mulliner’s ownership of Mulliners Limited of Birmingham, the renowned British coachbuilding firm. A number of works in the Irene Roosevelt Aitken collection share this distinguished provenance.
Carved from a stone often described as ‘oriental agate,’ the bowl exhibits a neoclassical vocabulary informed by the lingering influence of Rococo ornament. Its combination of finely chased ormolu mounts and precious hardstone invites comparison with the work of Matthew Boulton, although the use of agate in this manner appears to be without direct parallel in his documented oeuvre. Several ornamental details also diverge from Boulton’s established designs, including the foliate clasps along the rim and the specific arrangement of motifs on the base, particularly the gadrooned edge to the foot. The masks issuing ring handles at either end, however, closely relate to those found on a pair of perfume-burners in the Royal Collection by Boulton (illustrated in N. Goodison, Ormolu: The Work of Matthew Boulton, London, 1974, fig. 94).
The bowl’s refined materials and mounts also find parallels in the work of the Parisian marchands-merciers of the 1770s and 1780s. While certain features recall known models by Boulton, the object resists secure attribution and may instead represent the work of another English craftsman operating at the highest level, such as the goldsmith James Cox (1723-1800), examples of whose work appear elsewhere in the Irene Roosevelt Aitken collection (see lots 484 and 485).
The bowl was subsequently in the collection of Sir Humphrey Wyndham Cook (1893-1978). A shy and notably modest figure, Cook inherited a considerable fortune at the age of twelve following the death of his father, proprietor of the wholesale drapery firm Cook Son & Co. of St. Paul’s Churchyard. Beyond his activities as a collector, Cook played a significant role in British motor racing. In 1933, together with Raymond Mays and Peter Berthon, he co-founded English Racing Automobiles (E.R.A.), serving as its managing director, principal financier, and one of its drivers. Under his direction, the E.R.A. voiturette cars achieved notable success during the 1930s, competing against the dominant state-sponsored German Grand Prix teams. Cook is also credited with introducing British Racing Green to international motorsport. He appears to have acquired several objects from the Mulliner collection, and it is plausible that the two men were personally acquainted, particularly given Mulliner’s ownership of Mulliners Limited of Birmingham, the renowned British coachbuilding firm. A number of works in the Irene Roosevelt Aitken collection share this distinguished provenance.
Carved from a stone often described as ‘oriental agate,’ the bowl exhibits a neoclassical vocabulary informed by the lingering influence of Rococo ornament. Its combination of finely chased ormolu mounts and precious hardstone invites comparison with the work of Matthew Boulton, although the use of agate in this manner appears to be without direct parallel in his documented oeuvre. Several ornamental details also diverge from Boulton’s established designs, including the foliate clasps along the rim and the specific arrangement of motifs on the base, particularly the gadrooned edge to the foot. The masks issuing ring handles at either end, however, closely relate to those found on a pair of perfume-burners in the Royal Collection by Boulton (illustrated in N. Goodison, Ormolu: The Work of Matthew Boulton, London, 1974, fig. 94).
The bowl’s refined materials and mounts also find parallels in the work of the Parisian marchands-merciers of the 1770s and 1780s. While certain features recall known models by Boulton, the object resists secure attribution and may instead represent the work of another English craftsman operating at the highest level, such as the goldsmith James Cox (1723-1800), examples of whose work appear elsewhere in the Irene Roosevelt Aitken collection (see lots 484 and 485).