Thomas Moore
Head of Department
Lot 55TP
A George III carved mahogany and ormolu mounted bureau cabinet attributed to Gillows the carving probably by James Townson
23 June 2021, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £12,750 inc. premium
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A George III carved mahogany and ormolu mounted bureau cabinet attributed to Gillows
the carving probably by James Townson
Circa 1760, the dentil moulded cornice above a blind fretwork frieze, over a pair of shaped and scrolled panelled doors each with cartouche-embedded acanthus spray angles, enclosing six short adjustable shelves, two short fixed shelves, ten pigeon holes and five short drawers, flanked by two stop-fluted Corinthian pilasters, with a blind fretwork waist below, the hinged fall above three frieze drawers, the two shorter end drawers each with a sliding lid, over three long graduated drawers, flanked by fluted Corinthian columns, on shaped ogee bracket feet, 123cm wide x 64cm deep x 234cm high, (48in wide x 25in deep x 92in high)
Circa 1760, the dentil moulded cornice above a blind fretwork frieze, over a pair of shaped and scrolled panelled doors each with cartouche-embedded acanthus spray angles, enclosing six short adjustable shelves, two short fixed shelves, ten pigeon holes and five short drawers, flanked by two stop-fluted Corinthian pilasters, with a blind fretwork waist below, the hinged fall above three frieze drawers, the two shorter end drawers each with a sliding lid, over three long graduated drawers, flanked by fluted Corinthian columns, on shaped ogee bracket feet, 123cm wide x 64cm deep x 234cm high, (48in wide x 25in deep x 92in high)
Footnotes
A detailed painting by Shirley Slocombe, dating to 1906, of a virtually identical model of - possibly even the same - bureau cabinet as the present lot appears in both P. Macquoid, A History of English Furniture, 1989, London, Pl. XXXVII and S.E. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London, 1730-1840, Vol. II, 2008, Woodbridge, pl. 605, p. 59. Stuart describes this painting as showing an: 'unrecognised superb Gillow bureau clothes press or bookcase' so it is exciting to consider that the offered cabinet is, even if not the direct subject of Slocombe's illustration, at the very least a supreme showcase piece made by the Gillows workshop in circa 1760.
The distinctive carving of the Corinthian capitals on the stop-fluted pilasters flanking the doors of a Gillow clothes press supplied to Ralph Bell of Thirsk Hall, Yorkshire, in 1761, is very similar to the Corinthian ones on the present example. We know that the carving on the Thirsk Hall press was executed by James Townson, who was employed by the Gillows firm at that time, so it seems logical to presume that Townson also completed the carved details on the above as well. The Thirsk Hall press features in S.E. Stuart, Idem, pl.'s 595 & 596, pp.'s 52-54.
The shaped cartouches with foliate spray angles on the doors of the offered lot correspond to the panelling on the upper section of a secretaire clothes press and two wardrobes produced by Gillows in 1766 and 1772 respectively, Ibid, pl.'s 598, 606 & 607, pp.'s 54-61. It is also interesting to note that the secretaire press, which was supplied to John France in 1766, has a conforming pattern of blind fretwork frieze to that appearing on the bureau cabinet in the Slocombe painting.
A related bureau cabinet, likewise attributed to Gillows and dated circa 1760, which was also possibly carved by James Townson sold Christie's, New York, 14 October 2016, Living with Art, lot 230. The stop-fluted Corinthian pilasters flanking the doors of this comparable appear essentially identical to the ones carved on the offered example. And in turn both of these pairs of pilasters conform to those known to have been executed by James Townson on a Gillows clothes press supplied to Ralph Bell of Thirsk Hall, Yorkshire in 1761, S.E. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London, 1730-1840, Vol II, 2008, Woodbridge, pp.'s 52-53, pl.'s 595 & 596.
Literature
P. Macquoid, A History of English Furniture, 1989, London.
S.E. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London, 1730-1840, Woodbridge, 2008.