“All Through the Night”

“Betrayal”

“Forclosure”

“I Don’t Know”

“Invitation to the Dance”

“Landscape”

“You Will Not Fall”

“Too Much”

“Doxology”

“Midsummer Night”

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).

The decorative motifs of the table are taken from ancient Greek and Roman prototypes, including the grotesque female figures, claw foot monopod, acanthus leaves, the egg and  dart molding of the tabletop and waterleaf and tongue molding of the plinth. Earlier this week we discovered a drawing of a Greek basin from the Farnese museum with striking similarities to our table in Recueil des monumens les plus intéressans du Musée Royal-Bourbon et de plusieurs autres collections particulières (1845) by Raffaele Gargiulo. In this piece, three winged female monopodia with acanthine decoration support a basin, with similar moldings to the rim and triform base. While the separate decorative elements have well-known origins in antiquity, it was very exciting to see them all come together in the rendering of an ancient object- and one with such similarities in design to a piece of are own!

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.

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This collector’s cabinet, fitted with 14 drawers behind a pair of marquetry doors, is an uncompromising, luxurious piece of furniture. Its shape is strongly influenced by the furniture made during the 1920s by Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann (1879-1933) while the marquetry decoration finds its source in the great lacquer works produced in Japan during the 17th century, so well known for the quality of their drawing and understanding of space.

The interior of the cabinet is fitted with drawers made of a bright and naturally occurring pink/red wood from Mozambique, commonly known as pink ivory, which offers a striking contrast against the dark ebony exterior. This is reminiscent of the ebony cabinets of the 17th century which were often internally veneered in a rich red turtle shell hidden behind two ebony doors.

The simplicity of this cabinet’s form belies its complex construction. The cabinet is fashioned from some of the hardest woods available today and many technical difficulties needed to be overcome in order to realise the elegant design. The piece of furniture is in itself a triumph of craftsmanship, confronting head-on the innate limitations of difficult techniques and materials.

Although the construction of this cabinet is traditional, showing typical 18th century oak frame construction on the back, the internal construction, invisible to the viewer, is made using the latest materials and technology, which have been chosen for their strength and stability. The two doors, in order to be rigid, stable and light, are made of aluminium honeycomb which is concealed beneath the solid ebony edges and the marquetry.

As most species of wood used on this cabinet are extremely hard to work, all veneers have been saw cut at a thickness three times thicker than the commonly available commercial veneers, resulting in a more stable and also a more colourful marquetry. The thickness and hardness of the veneer meant that the marquetry could only be cut using the traditional piercing saw and marquetry donkey technique. Even the strongest laser beam, now commonly used when making marquetry, would not be able to cut through the hard ebony veneer.

This cabinet, unique in its design and quality of veneer, took over 900 hours of work to complete in Yannick Chastang’s workshop in Kent, UK.

Yannick Chastang studied cabinet-making and marquetry at the Ecole Boulle in Paris for six years. Following graduation he gained work experience in conservation and cabinet making workshops in France and in the United States. In 1995 he became a junior conservator at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris. From 1997 to 2003 Yannick Chastang was Furniture Conservator at the Wallace Collection in London where he enjoyed the privilege of conserving some of the best pieces of furniture ever produced. In 2003 Yannick Chastang set up his own studio specialising in the conservation and making of fine marquetry furniture, working for public and private collections. Yannick Chastang also advises private collectors on buying antique furniture. His publications include the book Paintings in Wood: French Marquetry Furniture, the Wallace Collection (2001), and many articles on history and making of marquetry furniture.

Most of the pigeonholes, particularly on the left and right sides are labeled with the names of various ports located in Europe and the Americas. The remaining niches appear to be reserved for correspondence with important government officials such as the Secretary of State, Board of Trade, treasurer and trustees, and Prince Frederick.  There are also niches for recompense (presumably of goods) from the year 1727 (Reprisatia Anno. 1727) and memorandums from bodies of governance (Iunta [Junta] Memorialls).

We can infer from apparent special access to the imported materials, as well as the original ink labels, that the present cabinet must have once belonged to an important maritime businessman, involved in trade which carried him across the globe.

Art theft has occurred for hundreds of years but increased considerably in the 20th century. Approximately 50,000 art thefts are reported world wide each year with an estimated value of $6 to 8 billion, although the number of undiscovered or unreported art crimes makes this a low estimate.¹ However, art is not exactly the smartest thing to steal. “The most valuable examples, usually paintings, are also the most highly recognizable and therefore almost impossible to resell or to display anywhere. When thieves try they are often caught.”² Two of the most famous paintings to be stolen and later recovered are Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, taken from the Louvre in 1911 (returned in 1913) and two versions of Edvard Munch’s The Scream, one of which was stolen in 1994 from the National Gallery in Oslo and returned the same year ,and  the other taken from the Munch Museum in Oslo in 2006 and recovered in 2008.

To cope with these international crimes, various organizations and specialist teams have been created to report and investigate instances of art trafficking. The FBI has a dedicated Art Crime Team comprised of special agents whose job it is to address recover stolen ‘art and cultural property,’ and prosecute the responsible parties. The Smithsonian National Conference on Cultural Property Protection was organized in 1977 to help improve security measures in museums, libraries, galleries and cultural centers.

The Art Loss Register is the world’s largest private database of lost and stolen art, where you can register a possession, check to see if an item has been declared missing, and report a missing object. They also issue bulletins altering the art community about stolen works so that they can be watched for in the market.

The Association for Research into Crimes against Art is a non-profit organization that consults with museums, public institutions, places of worship and international police and governments on art protection and art recovery. It’s members include top officials at art institutions around the globe and it provides comprehensive information and research on art crimes.

The “largest art heist in modern history” took place in 1990 at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner museum. Thirteen pieces were taken, including Vermeer’s “The Concert” ( the most valuable stolen painting in the world), two Rembrandt paintings and a drawing, and five drawings by Edgar Degas. The event is examined in the 2009 award-winning documentary STOLEN. The works have yet to be recovered.

Although art thievery is no laughing matter, the 2009 film The Maiden Heist tells the lighthearted and fictitious story of a museum robbery. Christopher Walken, Morgan Freeman and William H. Macy star as three museum security guards who conspire to steal artworks with which they have fallen in love and are being transferred to a museum in Denmark. The characters are endearing in their amateur caper, but, as the saying goes: “Do not try this at home.”

Further Reading:

Art Theft Stories from Luxist.com

Greatest Heists in Art History

The Black Market – The Other Business of Art

Art theft’s less than glamorous reality

Great Art Thefts Of The 20th Century

<sub>Footnotes:
1. Association for Research into Crimes Against Art. Media Pack. ARCA. Web. 26 July 2010. .
2. Kennedy, Randy. “Art Theft’s Less than Glamorous Reality.” The New York Times. 17 Feb. 2008. Web. 26 July 2010.</sub>

Thomas and René, together with their father Jean, practiced as carvers, gilders and engravers. The family came from Paris and settled in London during the 1680s after a brief period spent working in Amsterdam.  Between 1699 and 1702 they received commissions to produce over six hundred pounds worth of giltwood furniture for William III’s State Apartments at Hampton Court, proof of the high regard in which the Pelletiers were held.  Thomas Pelletier took over the management of the family business in 1702, and the present mirror probably dates from this period of the firm’s output.

Figure 1: Example of carved picture frame with scrolling acanthine decoration supplied by Jean Pelletier, circa 1702.

As well as their Royal commissions, the Pelletiers also worked for the Duke of Montagu at Boughton House, Northamptonshire. Indeed, the scale and importance of the present piece suggests it was designed for a grand  house such as Boughton, often described as ‘the English Versailles.’ The carving of the frame compares very closely to the work of Jean Pelletier and his sons at Boughton.  In particular, the frame of the painting above the mirror, with its scrolling acanthine decoration, bears a strong similarity in execution and design to a number of carved picture frames at Boughton, supplied by Jean Pelletier in 1702 (figure 1).

In addition to its fine carving, the present overmantel also retains its original decoratively beveled mirror plates.  The plates are surrounded by a band of black and gold verre églomisé decoration. This technique of engraving on gold under glass was considered an art form in itself and was especially favored in the years around 1700.  The present mirror is unusual in that the the strapwork decoration on the verre églomisé is enriched by the use of figures.  Examples of comparable verre églomisé decoration, also with figures, can be found on two mirrors attributed to the Pelletiers which are now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (figures 2 and 3).

Figure 2: Mirror from Halnaby, Yorkshire, Attributed to Thomas and Rene Pelletier, circa 1707, Victoria and Albert Museum.

The painting above the mirror is centered by Apollo at the summit of Mount Parnassus surrounded by his nine muses, a subject which reflected the learned nature of an enlightened patron. One of the twelve Gods of Olympus, Apollo embodied the rational and civilized side of the classical spirit, his muses each representing different branches of learning and the arts.

The mirror is featured in an article by Tessa Murdoch, published in the June 1998 issue of The Burlington Magazine entitled Jean, René and Thomas Pelletier, a Huguenot family of carvers and gilders in England 1682-1726; Part 2 (p 369).

Information about art historians, past and present, can be hard to find. However, databases, such as the Dictionary of Art Historians, are a great resource when it comes to historiography (the study of historical writing). The Dictionary provides an introduction to the methodology, scholarship, and background of major art historians of western art history. Below, we’ve highlighted four individuals whose writings have made a huge impact in the study of the history of art:

“True glory consists in doing what deserves to be written; in writing what deserves to be read; and in so living as to make the world happier and better for our living in it.” -Pliny the Elder

Gaius Plinius Secundus (23 AD – 79 AD), better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman military commander, natural historian and encyclopedist. His greatest body of work, the Naturalis Historia, is one of the largest single collections to survive from the Roman Empire, and covers all aspects of knowledge. Pliny purportedly consulted roughly one hundred authors when covering the nearly twenty thousand subjects he claims to elucidate in his 37-volume collection. Naturalis Historia covers the sciences of the natural world- geography, biology, physiology, minerology, etc.- however, he also devoted portions to the study of religion and literature as well as fine arts, painting and sculpture.  His writings became an important source for information on society and art in ancient Greek and Rome.

“Men of genius sometimes accomplish most when they work the least, for they are thinking out inventions and forming in their minds the perfect idea that they subsequently express with their hands.” -Giorgio Vasari

Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) was an Italian painter, architect and historian. In Florence, his contemporaries included artists such as Adrea del Sarto, Jacopo Pontormo and his friend Michelangelo Buonarroti. His architectural projects may be viewed as more successful than his painting, and he is responsible for the renovations of both Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce in Florence, as well as the loggia of the Uffizi Palace. He enjoyed the constant patronage from the Medici family and one of his architectural projects was the Vasari Corridor, an elevated passageway that connects the Uffizi Palace with the Pitti Palace, commissioned by Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici in 1564. Vasari’s most notable written work is his Le Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori (Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects), most often referred to as The Lives of the Artists. The second edition, published in 1568 is the version for which Vasari achieved fame. This chronological encyclopedia of Renaissance artist biographies, peppered with anecdotes and bias, nevertheless has become one of the definitive collections of biography and analysis in art, that has appealed to enthusiasts for generations.

“Grace can never properly be said to exist without beauty; for it is only in the elegant proportions of beautiful forms that can be found that harmonious variety of line and motion which is the essence and charm of grace.” -Johann Joachim Winckelmann

Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768) is often labeled the “father” of modern day art history. He was born in Germany, the son of a poor cobbler, and pursued studies at the University of Halle. Although he had intentions of being a physician, his love of Greek literature and art lead him in a different direction. His appointment circa 1748 as librarian for Count Heinrich von Bünau exposed him to the great classical written works, as well as sculpture. He later became librarian and prefect of antiquities at the Vatican. After years of study, Winckelmann’s masterpiece, History of the Art of Antiquity, was published in 1764 and positioned him as the foremost scholar of the ancient Egyptians, Etruscans, Romans and, predominantly, the Greeks.   The text gave momentum to the neoclassical movement and served as a foundation for the study of art and archaeology as a modern academic discipline.

“The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well.” -Horace Walpole

Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (1717-1797), was an English politician, intellectual, author and art historian. He was born the son of British Prime Minister Robert Walpole, and after attending Eton and Cambridge, embarked on his Grand Tour. Like his father, Walpole went into politics, serving as a Member of Parliament from 1741-1768. He was a poet and novelist, and had his own printing press at Strawberry Hill, a “little Gothic castle” in Twickenham which he renovated for more than 30 years and, as a chronic collector, filled it with antiquities, fine art and furniture. Apart from his works of fiction, Walpole published collections of observations, memoirs and letters. These included Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors of England (1758), Anecdotes of Painting in England, and A Catalogue of Engravers (1762-1771). The correspondence contained in The Letters of Horace Walpole, although amateur and superficial, have been described by biographer J. H. Plumb as “one of the most precious works of reference for eighteenth-century British history,” giving us insight into the political, social and domestic climate of the time. His accounts of the architecture and furnishings of important homes give us indispensable descriptions of their interiors and paint vivid portraits of their residents.

Portrait of John Hogan. Cork City Libraries.

Hogan set out for Italy and soon made a name for himself, remaining there except for a number of return visits to Ireland, until 1848.  Famed neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorwaldsen is supposed to have said, “My son you are the best sculptor I leave after me in Rome.”  In 1840, Hogan was elected a member of the society of “Virtuosi al Pantheon”, the first British subject to be so honored since its foundation in 1500. Hogan died in Dublin on 27 March 1858, ten years after he finally left Italy.  Whilst in Rome he had sent much of his work home and subsequently today most of his sculpture is in Ireland.

Hogan frequently exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, as well as at the National Exhibition of 1852 in Cork and the Paris International exhibition.  He was quick to take up the neoclassicism of Canova and Thorwaldsen when he arrived in Rome, and his seemingly effortless talent produced a body of work which was much admired, from his religious and funerary monuments to his large scale commissioned work and intimate portraits.

Marble portrait bust of James Murphy by Hogan.

The present bust depicts James Murphy (1768-1855) of Ringmahon Castle, Blackrock, Co. Cork. James was a magistrate and a brewer who, along with his brothers, founded James Murphy and Company, Distillers in 1825. The Murphy family was also known for having several of its members in the clergy, including James’ brother, Bishop Murphy, who Hogan had also portrayed.

The curly hair is heavily drilled and his eyelids sharply incised; this together with the strong modeling of the face produce a keenly observed and exquisitely sculpted portrait. The relief on the base (left) shows Mercury flying with cadacus and trumpet; the relief (right) shows Hibernia seated on a bale with cornucopia and a barrel.  Both reliefs are emblematic of commerce.

Signed and dated on the reverse Hogan Fecit 1834.

]]> http://www.carltonhobbs.net/art/john-hogan/2010/07/08/feed/ 0 http://www.carltonhobbs.net/caskets/bonzanigo-casket/2010/07/01/ http://www.carltonhobbs.net/caskets/bonzanigo-casket/2010/07/01/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:31:02 +0000 Carlton Hobbs Blog http://www.carltonhobbs.net/?p=2321 The celebrated Piedmontese sculptor, furniture maker and ornamentalist Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo (1745-1820)  was born into a family of woodcarvers in Aste. By 1773 he had settled in Turin where he was engaged at the Savoy court. His first recorded commission there was for picture frames for portraits in the Royal apartments. The Royal account books reveal that over the following twenty years he supplied an array of objects including chairs, stools, sofas, mirrors, screens, beds and panels for the Palazzo Reale in Turin as well for the Savoy residences at Moncalieri, Rivoli, Stupinigi, Venaria and Govone. In 1787 Vittorio Amadeo III, acknowledging his ’singular mastery’, appointed him official woodcarver to the Crown.

Self-Portrait, G.M. Bonzanigo, circa 1795.

Bonzanigo’s distinctively crisp and elaborate carved work is a striking departure from the traditional school of Franco-Piedmontese inlay and marquetry. The effect created by his pieces was most stunningly demonstrated when he was commissioned to create entire rooms such as the state rooms of the Queen and King at Stupinigi.

This large  giltwood and blue painted casket in the Carlton Hobbs collection is executed in the manner of Bonzanigo. The carving of the casket illustrates the shift toward neoclassicism in late 18th century decor in its architectural form and foliate motifs, while the blue and gilt coloring and classical decoration, typical of Bonzanigo’s work, conforms to the ornamentation employed in Piedmontese region of Italy at this time.

The inside of the lid is decorated in the manner of a neoclassical ceiling design, not unlike the State Room of Spencer House (below.) The coffered design is embellished with floral swags and centered by an ovoid fan medallion. It has been speculated that the casket was constructed to hold a Cardinal’s hat, so the lid may also be painted to resemble the ceiling of a cathedral.

The Great Room, Spencer House.

]]> http://www.carltonhobbs.net/caskets/bonzanigo-casket/2010/07/01/feed/ 0 http://www.carltonhobbs.net/chairs/18th-century-bandera-chairs/2010/06/28/ http://www.carltonhobbs.net/chairs/18th-century-bandera-chairs/2010/06/28/#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:09:17 +0000 Carlton Hobbs Blog http://www.carltonhobbs.net/?p=2310 Summer has certainly arrived here in New York, and everything is a little lighter and brighter. Seasonal changeover in interior decoration is no exception as seen in this set of ten chairs (8 side and 2 armchairs), constructed in Northern Italy at the dawn of the 18th century.

The chairs are most remarkable for retaining their detachable “summer” covers, beautifully embroidered in vibrantly colored wool on Bandera fabric. Bandera, widely used in the Piedmont region of Italy, particularly at the 18th century courts, was produced in white and neutral shades and was employed in upholstery for its strength and durability. The covers would be changed seasonally to “winter” covers, of different material and design.

Figure 1

From the Middle Ages, embroidery like that of the present ricamo Bandera (Bandera embroidery) covers, was done in ‘point fendu’ (split stitch), a stitch still much used throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. An important set of Italian needlework hangings of related character from the collection of Mrs. Margaret Carrel were sold at Sotheby’s London, 11 May 1962, Lot 191 (figure 1).

The chairs are fine examples of turned walnut prototypes that adorned the palazzi of central and northern Italy in the mid to late 17th century. It is thought that this model equates most closely to seat furniture from the Piedmont or Tuscany region, being somewhat weightier in the gauge of the turned walnut section (figure 2), than examples found in other parts of Italy, which tend to be interpreted in a lighter fashion.

Figure 2

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