CIRCA 1775, THE PORCELAIN ENGLISH, FIRST HALF 19TH CENTURY AND ADDED IN THE 19TH CENTURY

The fashion for displaying Sèvres porcelain plaques around the frieze of a bureau plat likely originated with the marchand-mercier Simon-Philippe Poirier, who commissioned plaques directly from the Sèvres manufactory. This style was revived in the 1830s and 40s, largely promoted by Edward Holmes Baldock (1777-1845), the celebrated London dealer and retailer who traded in "Foreign China [&] Furniture". Baldock supplemented his business with two workshops that restored, embellished and fabricated furniture and objects to the taste and specifications of his clients. In 1837, Baldock charged Lord Lowther "£'8 16 s. 0d. for Mountng. 3 pieces porcelain in New inlaid Satin wood table" and in 1841 sold the Duke of Buccluech a satinwood secretaire mounted with porcelain plaques (G. de Bellaigue, 'Edward Holmes Baldock, Part II,' The Connoisseur, September 1975). In the sale of Baldock's stock and inventory held at his retirement, there were over one hundred lots of French porcelain, principally Sèvres (ibid).

A related bureau plat, also with later added green ground Sèvres plaques, was sold anonymously; Christie's, London, 13 June 2002, lot 394. Another example, now thought to be a 19th century copy, is in the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon. It is particularly interesting to note that the Gulbenkian bureau is stamped E.H.B. Though no definitive proof currently exists, this stamp corresponds to Baldock's initials and appears principally on French furniture either found in England or with a provenance traced to an English collection.