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Lot Essay
Jacques Dubois, maître in 1742.
The arms on the label are those of Edgcumbe above a motto Au plaisir fort de Dieu - At the Good Pleasure of God. The label is a book plate cut from C. Catton and F. Chesham, English Peerage; or, A View of the Ancient and Present State of the English Nobility, London, 1790. The coats-of-arms were drawn by Charles Catton (1728-1798) and engraved by Francis Chesham (1749-1806).
The Mount Edgcumbe plate is correctly titled for George, 3rd Baron Edgcumbe and 1st Viscount Mount Edgcumbe F.R.S, F.S.A. (1720-1795), however, there is an inconsistency in the engraved arms which are surmounted by a Baron's rather than a Viscount's coronet. It is possible that the arms were engraved sometime before 1781, with the inscription beneath being added later, nearer the date of publication in 1790, for in 1781 the then Baron Edgcumbe was created Viscount Edgcumbe and Valletort. It was said at the time as compensation for the devastation of the woods on his estate at Mount Edgcumbe caused by the wholesale felling of trees for the strengthening of the defences of Plymouth.
George Edgcumbe was the third son of Richard, 1st Baron Edgcumbe (d.1758). He entered the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth in 1733 as one of the first eight scholars to attend the establishment. His long naval career was slow to take off as it was not until 1789 that he was appointed a lieutenant, his first posting being on the Superb in 1739. He was made captain of the Kennington in 1744. He served in the Mediterranean, at the siege of Louisbourg and at the battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759. He served at M.P. for Fowey, Cornwall from 1746 until 1758, but rarely attended the house and is not recorded as having spoken in the house. Following the death of his brother in 1761 he became 3rd Baron Edgcumbe. In the same year he was made Lord-Lieutenant or Cornwall and married Emma (1729-1807), daughter of John Gilbert (1693-1761), Archbishop of York. He was made Vice-Admiral in 1770 and admiral in 1778. He was raised to Earl of Mount Edgcumbe in 1789. He died at his London house in Grosvenor Street in 1795 and was succeeded by his only son Richard (1764-1839).
The Edgcumbe family moved their household from Cotehele to Mount Edgcumbe during the late 17th century. In the 18th and early 19th century the Edgecumbe's undertook a large-scale remodelling of the interior decoration as well as some exterior refurbishment. The family collections at Edgcumbe as well as other homes at Belgrave Square and Cotehele reveal a broad range of antiquarian interests, which included French furniture as well as Chinese objects. Unfortunately the house was destroyed in the Second World War and was left as a derelict shell until 1958 when the 6th Earl rebuilt it.
JACQUES DUBOIS
Half-brother of the great marchand-ébéniste Noël Gérard, Jacques Dubois (1694-1763) worked as an ouvrier libre in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. He was one of the most prolific cabinet-makers in the Louis XV period, his work characterised by graceful lines and finely cast mounts. His workshop was extensive, the inventory taken after his death listing twelve workbenches and over one hundred pieces of furniture.
He particularly specialised in lacquer pieces, and among the furniture in his workshop the inventory listed 'une petite secrétaire en lac de japon 200 L'. These were almost certainly made on commission for a marchand-mercier, and it is interesting to note that Dubois supplied lacquer furniture to the marchand-mercier Machart, and employed the specialist vernisseur Joseph Huitre to supply him with lacquer panels.
The inventory of Dubois's workshop also listed a large stock of bronze mounts, indicating the possibility that he retained exclusive use of his own model of mounts. Interestingly, closely related mounts appear on his masterpiece, the monumental encoignure supplied to Count Jan Klemens Branicki formely in the Wildenstein collection and now in the J. Paul Getty Museum (C. Bremer-David et. al., Masterpieces of the J. Paul Getty Museum. Decorative Arts, London, 1997, pp. 92-93)
The arms on the label are those of Edgcumbe above a motto Au plaisir fort de Dieu - At the Good Pleasure of God. The label is a book plate cut from C. Catton and F. Chesham, English Peerage; or, A View of the Ancient and Present State of the English Nobility, London, 1790. The coats-of-arms were drawn by Charles Catton (1728-1798) and engraved by Francis Chesham (1749-1806).
The Mount Edgcumbe plate is correctly titled for George, 3rd Baron Edgcumbe and 1st Viscount Mount Edgcumbe F.R.S, F.S.A. (1720-1795), however, there is an inconsistency in the engraved arms which are surmounted by a Baron's rather than a Viscount's coronet. It is possible that the arms were engraved sometime before 1781, with the inscription beneath being added later, nearer the date of publication in 1790, for in 1781 the then Baron Edgcumbe was created Viscount Edgcumbe and Valletort. It was said at the time as compensation for the devastation of the woods on his estate at Mount Edgcumbe caused by the wholesale felling of trees for the strengthening of the defences of Plymouth.
George Edgcumbe was the third son of Richard, 1st Baron Edgcumbe (d.1758). He entered the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth in 1733 as one of the first eight scholars to attend the establishment. His long naval career was slow to take off as it was not until 1789 that he was appointed a lieutenant, his first posting being on the Superb in 1739. He was made captain of the Kennington in 1744. He served in the Mediterranean, at the siege of Louisbourg and at the battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759. He served at M.P. for Fowey, Cornwall from 1746 until 1758, but rarely attended the house and is not recorded as having spoken in the house. Following the death of his brother in 1761 he became 3rd Baron Edgcumbe. In the same year he was made Lord-Lieutenant or Cornwall and married Emma (1729-1807), daughter of John Gilbert (1693-1761), Archbishop of York. He was made Vice-Admiral in 1770 and admiral in 1778. He was raised to Earl of Mount Edgcumbe in 1789. He died at his London house in Grosvenor Street in 1795 and was succeeded by his only son Richard (1764-1839).
The Edgcumbe family moved their household from Cotehele to Mount Edgcumbe during the late 17th century. In the 18th and early 19th century the Edgecumbe's undertook a large-scale remodelling of the interior decoration as well as some exterior refurbishment. The family collections at Edgcumbe as well as other homes at Belgrave Square and Cotehele reveal a broad range of antiquarian interests, which included French furniture as well as Chinese objects. Unfortunately the house was destroyed in the Second World War and was left as a derelict shell until 1958 when the 6th Earl rebuilt it.
JACQUES DUBOIS
Half-brother of the great marchand-ébéniste Noël Gérard, Jacques Dubois (1694-1763) worked as an ouvrier libre in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. He was one of the most prolific cabinet-makers in the Louis XV period, his work characterised by graceful lines and finely cast mounts. His workshop was extensive, the inventory taken after his death listing twelve workbenches and over one hundred pieces of furniture.
He particularly specialised in lacquer pieces, and among the furniture in his workshop the inventory listed 'une petite secrétaire en lac de japon 200 L'. These were almost certainly made on commission for a marchand-mercier, and it is interesting to note that Dubois supplied lacquer furniture to the marchand-mercier Machart, and employed the specialist vernisseur Joseph Huitre to supply him with lacquer panels.
The inventory of Dubois's workshop also listed a large stock of bronze mounts, indicating the possibility that he retained exclusive use of his own model of mounts. Interestingly, closely related mounts appear on his masterpiece, the monumental encoignure supplied to Count Jan Klemens Branicki formely in the Wildenstein collection and now in the J. Paul Getty Museum (C. Bremer-David et. al., Masterpieces of the J. Paul Getty Museum. Decorative Arts, London, 1997, pp. 92-93)