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CARLTON HOUSE DESK
england , circa 1790
Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster & London
An exceptional and very rare small late 18th century Sheraton period mahogany Carlton House Writing Table of outstanding quality.
This superb example of horse-shoe shaped frame with ebony and boxwood stringing, veneered with fiddleback mahogany contrasted with oval panels of flame figured mahogany, the drawers lined with mahogany and cedar wood, with original gilt brass mouldings, pierced gallery and typical Gillows handles. The super-structure fitted with unusual letterboxes on either side with brass swing covers. The drawer in the frieze fitted with additional writing surfaces, lined with the original blue leather, the centre made to adapt for a book rest, all raised on elegant turned and tapered legs, headed by carved tassels and terminating in original brass castors.
An exceptional and very rare small late 18th century Sheraton period mahogany Carlton House Writing Table of outstanding quality.
This superb example of horse-shoe shaped frame with ebony and boxwood stringing, veneered with fiddleback mahogany contrasted with oval panels of flame figured mahogany, the drawers lined with mahogany and cedar wood, with original gilt brass mouldings, pierced gallery and typical Gillows handles. The super-structure fitted with unusual letterboxes on either side with brass swing covers. The drawer in the frieze fitted with additional writing surfaces, lined with the original blue leather, the centre made to adapt for a book rest, all raised on elegant turned and tapered legs, headed by carved tassels and terminating in original brass castors.
Provenance
Millards Hill House, Frome, Somerset
With Norman Adams Ltd., Knightsbridge (1965)
Private Collection,
With Norman Adams Ltd., Knightsbridge
With Hotspur Ltd., Belgravia (2005)
Private Collection, UK
With Norman Adams Ltd., Knightsbridge (1965)
Private Collection,
With Norman Adams Ltd., Knightsbridge
With Hotspur Ltd., Belgravia (2005)
Private Collection, UK
Stock number
AD.365
dimensions
More Details
Literature
Height: 37³/₈ in (95 cm)
Width: 42¹/₂ in (108 cm)
Depth: 23⁵/₈ in (60 cm)
Width: 42¹/₂ in (108 cm)
Depth: 23⁵/₈ in (60 cm)
H. Cezinsky, English Furniture of the Eighteenth Century, (1911), vol. III, pp 338 - 340 illustrates two examples from the Gillows Cost Books, one titled "Carlton House Table" of 1796, and one with an arched recess in the frieze as made for the Earl of Derby in 1798. Another is illustraed in Ralph Edwards,The Dictionary of English Furniture, 1954, vol III, p, 257, fig. 41, is also very similar and veneered in fiddleback mahogany.
Le Style Anglais 1750 - 1850, p. 104
C. Claxton Stevens and S. Whittington, 18th Century Furniture - The Norman Adams Collection, 1983, p. 137 (illustrated)
The Regent's Own Writing Table, Country Life Annual 1969, fig. 6
Country Life, 'The Treasures of the Antique Dealer's Fair' by Edward Perry, 9 June 1966, p. 1466, fig. 2
Susan E. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster & London 1730 - 1840, vol. I, pp. 286 -287
Frank Davis, A Picture History of Furniture,1958, fig. 246
Apollo, 'Grosvenor House', June 1966, fig. 4 (illustrated)
Connoisseur, The Connoisseur Catalogue to the Antique Delalers' Fair and Exhibition, June 1966, p.112 (illustrated)
Grosvenor House Catalogue, 1966 (illustrated)
C. Claxton Stevens and S. Whittington, 18th Century Furniture - The Norman Adams Collection, 1983, p. 137 (illustrated)
The Regent's Own Writing Table, Country Life Annual 1969, fig. 6
Country Life, 'The Treasures of the Antique Dealer's Fair' by Edward Perry, 9 June 1966, p. 1466, fig. 2
Susan E. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster & London 1730 - 1840, vol. I, pp. 286 -287
Frank Davis, A Picture History of Furniture,1958, fig. 246
Apollo, 'Grosvenor House', June 1966, fig. 4 (illustrated)
Connoisseur, The Connoisseur Catalogue to the Antique Delalers' Fair and Exhibition, June 1966, p.112 (illustrated)
Grosvenor House Catalogue, 1966 (illustrated)
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