We’ve had a very interesting find recently regarding this center table from the Octagon, of the Garden Pavilion, Buckingham Palace, London.
The table, which appears to be the work of the celebrated firm of royal decorators George Morant and Sons, is of giltwood with the striking decorative form of three female monopodia joined by their outstretched wings which support the circular table top. Scrolling acanthine carving supports the body of each figure, running into the muscular form of the single zoomorphic upright terminating in a powerful claw foot, standing on a shaped triform base with concave sides. The table was illustrated in Ludwig Grüner’s The Decorations of the Garden Pavillion in the Grounds of Buckingham Palace, 1846 (below). Read more... (262 words, 3 images, estimated 1:03 mins reading time)
Carlton Hobbs has been honored to present an exceptional piece of art furniture made by the eminent conservator and ébéniste, Yannick Chastang. It is the first time Carlton Hobbs has marketed a piece by a contemporary designer, and we feel this cabinet is relevant to our collection as it embodies the artistry and quality of the Golden Age of cabinetmaking, whose final flourishing was the Art Deco period of the 1920s and 30s.
Although small pockets of high quality production still exist, this cabinet, in its conception, has an exceptional understanding of subtlety and restraint, redolent of late 18th century French design. The quality is undoubtedly informed by Mr. Chastang’s years of working on the greatest examples of 18th century Gallic pieces. Read more... (634 words, 4 images, estimated 2:32 mins reading time)
This George I mahogany maritime bureau cabinet is an extremely rare and special early 18th century commission, due to its unusual form and special characteristics in type of wood and method of manufacture. Uniquely, the cabinet is entirely constructed of imported mahogany from Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Cuba, including the interior pigeonholes and drawer linings, which are otherwise usually made of oak. The use of shoot bolts on the shutter doors are also a feature of great rarity.
The interior is fitted with pigeonholes for substantial mercantile correspondence.
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This pair of armchairs formed part of a suite which furnished the State Room on the first floor of the Archduke Karl’s Palace in Vienna (now the Albertina). Archduke Karl (1771-1847), brother of Emperor Franz I, inherited the Palace from his uncle Duke Albert of Saxony Teschen in 1822, together with its famous collection of drawings and etchings. He immediately embarked upon its extensive redecoration, and after the project’s completion the Palace was regarded as one of the most tasteful and glamorous in Vienna.
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This English work table, circa 1815, is a curious fusion of the refined neoclassicism of Robert Adam and the exotic eclecticism which emerged during the Regency period. The finely carved tri-form giltwood stand, based on a Roman form, is typical of Adam’s adaptation of the antique.
The use of composition was also favoured by Adam since, as with the present piece, it lends itself perfectly to the delicate decoration of this inventive version of the neoclassical. In contrast, the use of faux bronze decoration applied to the composition, and the decorative use of rosewood in conjunction with gilt ornament are more typical features of Regency furniture. Furthermore, it was also a Regency characteristic to employ finely tooled scarlet leather, such as that fitted to the interior of this piece.
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Chenil is a French word meaning ‘kennel,’ however, it is also applied to a dog bed or dog house. Chenils were particularly popular among aristocratic pet owners in 18th century France, and they were constructed with the same luxury and opulence as the other household furniture. This mahogany stool-shaped chenil in the Carlton Hobbs LLC collection, circa 1775, takes the form of a footstool and is more austere and neoclassical in its design than some of the more ostentatious contemporaneous versions.
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The present pair of occasional tables were constructed in the early 20th century, although they have been designed to simulate Spanish models from centuries earlier. The shaped legs take the form of Spanish Baroque trestle legs of the type that were found on benches and tables being made in Catalonia in the 17th century. Here we have two drawings of comparable trestle legs found on a bench in a private Spanish collection and another from the Valencia Don Juan Institute in Madrid. The legs, as well as the edge of the tabletop, are embellished with gold and turquoise painted arabesque designs. Read more... (454 words, 6 images, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)
This chair belongs to a group of seating furniture known as “Vierlander” chairs.
These chairs originated in Prussia in the 18th century in the province of Vierlande in northern Germany, southeast of Hamburg. The area, populated by provincial craftsmen, was agriculturally rich and these chairs are “characterized by their intricate inlay of local woods.” The chairs customarily commemorate important family occasions, such as a birth or marriage. In the latter case, there would be a pair of such pieces, with the bride and groom each “[having] a chair made for the installation of the new house.” The family name and date of the ceremony was inlaid in marquetry, along with figural and floral decoration. Read more... (389 words, 2 images, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)
Tula is an industrial city in Russia, most famous for its production of applied arts in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The craftsmen of Tula became renowned for their production of objects in steel following Peter the Great’s relocation of the Imperial State Armoury to the town in 1712. The workshops of Tula began to manufacture domestic objects in steel soon after moving to the town, adapting the experience and techniques acquired in the creation of fine quality arms. The master craftsmen of the town worked either in the imperial workshops, from where they could also undertake their own commissions, or in private manufactories, such as those of Demidov, Nikita Mosolov and Feodor Batashov. The output ranged from furniture to decorative boxes and down to items as small as buckles and buttons. Read more... (421 words, 4 images, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)
Nostell Priory. © The National Trust 2003-05
Nostell Priory is a Palladian house in Nostell, West Yorkshire, built on the site of a medieval priory. The estate was purchased by the Winn family in the 1650’s and that family has lived there ever since construction began on the present building in 1733, to a design based on Palladio’s Villa Mocenigo. The house retains extensive work by the celebrated architects and designers James Paine and Robert Adam, with decorative painting by A. Zucchi and a collection of furniture by Thomas Chippendale.
The Nostell Priory breakfront side cabinets designed by Thomas Ward. Carlton Hobbs LLC.
Read more... (268 words, 4 images, estimated 1:04 mins reading time)
