OF GEORGE II STYLE, RECONSTRUCTED USING SOME 18TH CENTURY ELEMENTS

Details

A MAHOGANY WINE-COOLER
Of George II style, reconstructed using some 18th Century elements
Of canted rectangular form with a gadrooned edge, enclosing a later copper liner, the angles with acanthus-carved scrolled volutes, the sides with brass carrying-handles, the stand with a foliate-carved moulding above a shaped carved apron, on cabriole legs headed by acanthus-carved cabochons, on paw feet, with sunk brass castors
21 in. (53.5 cm.) high; 29 in. (74 cm.) wide; 20½ (52 cm.) deep

Provenance

Bought by Samuel Messer, Esq. from R.A. Lee, 17 June 1966 for £850.
The Samuel Messer Collection of Furniture and Clocks, sold in these Rooms, 5 December 1991, lot 112.
Anonymous sale, in these Rooms, 1 April 1993, lot 40.

Special Notice

VAT rate of 17.5% is payable on hammer price and buyer's premium when purchased by non-EU purchasers.

Lot Essay

The cistern's finely carved lion paws relate to those of seat-furniture supplied in 1740 for Longford Castle, Wiltshire by the Long Acre cabinet-maker Benjamin Goodison (d. 1767) (R. Edwards, The Shorter Dictionary of English Furniture, London, 1968, p. 506, fig. 39). The cistern was formerly owned by Samuel Messer (d. 1991), who assembled one of the most oustanding and distinguished collections of English furniture, clocks and barometers since the last war. Advised by R.W. Symonds (d. 1958), the great furniture historian, the Messer Collection was essentially concentrated on the Chippendale period with particular attention being paid to untouched condition, original patination and fine quality of timber, combined with good proportions, an elegant line and a balanced use of crisply carved ornament. Many of the pieces in the collection came themselves from other distinguished collections, including those formed by Percival Griffiths, Fred Skull and J.S. Sykes.

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