A VICTORIAN BURR-WALNUT AND TULIPWOOD-BANDED KIDNEY-SHAPED DESK
A VICTORIAN BURR-WALNUT AND TULIPWOOD-BANDED KIDNEY-SHAPED DESK
A VICTORIAN BURR-WALNUT AND TULIPWOOD-BANDED KIDNEY-SHAPED DESK
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A VICTORIAN BURR-WALNUT AND TULIPWOOD-BANDED KIDNEY-SHAPED DESK
7 More
Prospective purchasers are advised that several co… Read more
A VICTORIAN BURR-WALNUT AND TULIPWOOD-BANDED KIDNEY-SHAPED DESK

BY GILLOWS, DATED FEBRUARY 1859, THE CRAFTSMAN JOHN BARROW

Details
A VICTORIAN BURR-WALNUT AND TULIPWOOD-BANDED KIDNEY-SHAPED DESK
BY GILLOWS, DATED FEBRUARY 1859, THE CRAFTSMAN JOHN BARROW
The crossbanded top inset with gilt-tooled green leather, above a frieze drawer flanked by two banks of five graduated drawers with locking stiles, the reverse of the kneehole with two adjustable shelves, stamped GILLOW, the locks struck J.T. NEEDS/ 100 NEW BOND ST and LATE J. BRAMAH / 124 PICCADILLY beneath a crown, on a plinth base with recessed castors, the frieze drawer signed in pencil John Barrow / Febry 1859 and with label indistinctly inscribed '...after consideration ...this writing table...daughter...Her Godfather gave it to... W. Sterling Crawford (?) there are other...for... . I give to her this & she is also my eldest child (?)'
29 in. (73.5 cm.) high; 51 5/8 in. (131 cm.) wide; 27 ½ in. (70 cm.) deep
Provenance
(According to the label) W. Sterling Crawford (?).
Anonymous sale; Bonhams, London, 12 June 2013, lot 183.
Special notice
Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country. Specified lots are being stored at Crozier Park Royal (details below) or will be removed from Christie’s, 8 King Street, London, SW1Y 6QT by 5.00pm on the day of the sale. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. If the lot has been transferred to Crozier Park Royal, it will be available for collection from 12.00pm on the second business day following the sale. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crozier Park Royal. All collections from Crozier Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s, 8 King Street, it will be available for collection on any working day (not weekends) from 9.00am to 5.00pm Cancellation under the EU Consumer Rights Directive may apply to this lot. Please see here for further information.

Brought to you by

Amelia Walker
Amelia Walker Director, Specialist Head of Private & Iconic Collections

Lot Essay


This model of desk is based on a Gillow design, which first appeared in 1792 (Estimate Sketch Book 344/96, p. 896, September 1792) although Thomas Sheraton is generally credited with having introduced the pattern, see a design published in his The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing-Book, London, 1802, pl. 58. The form, with open bookshelves to the reverse, was made by Gillows of London and Lancaster from 1840 to circa 1860 and became one of the firm’s best-known models. It corresponds to two sketches for 'An Oak pedestal and Kidney table' in one of Gillows' Estimate Sketch Books, dated 1840. A stamped Gillow example with the same Bramah lock is illustrated in S.E. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London 1730-1840, Woodbridge, 2008, vol. I, p. 339, fig. 393. Both John Barrow, the craftsman, and his father, William, worked for Gillows; John from about 1825-60. From 1826, he served a seven year apprenticeship to Leonard Redmayne for which he was paid 7s per week after two years' service. This desk appears to be the last signed and dated piece of furniture made by him, as the latest recorded item cited by Susan Stuart is dated 1848 (ibid., vol. II, p. 215).
Closely related examples in burr-walnut, with the same or similar gilded handles and also fitted with Bramah locks were sold from the collection of Richard Mellon Scaife, Christie's, New York, 30 June - 1 July 2015, lot 451 ($32,500 including premium) and another was sold anonymously by a Rhode Island Collector, Christie's, New York, 9 April 2019, lot 74 ($22,500).

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