search

1/3

THE LONGFORD CASTLE PEDESTALS

england , 1740

From the collections of the Earls of Radnor, Longford Castle

Attributed to Benjamin Goodison

An outstanding and highly important pair of George II carved giltwood and gilt-gesso pedestals attributed to Benjamin Goodison made for Longford Castle, Wiltshire. Each square top with a gilt-gesso carved foliate spray and cartouche border above a swag-draped oak leaf frieze, the tapering pedestals with sanded panels mounted with ribbon-tied fruit and flower sprays, the sides with C-scrolls and acanthus, and standing on plinth bases.


 

Provenance

The pair, originally from a set of six, presumably supplied by Benjamin Goodison to Jacob Bouverie, 1st Viscount Folkestone (1694-1761) for Longford Castle, Wiltshire, between 1737 and 1743
The collection of Lady Anne Tree (née Cavendish), Mereworth Castle, Kent
Christie's London, Important English Furniture, Clocks and Objects of Art, 23 May 1968 including the property of the Lady Anne Tree removed from Mereworth Castle, Kent
With Christopher Gibbs, London, 1979, as ‘ascribed to Benjamin Goodison, from Longford Castle’
Private Collection, USA
With Mackinnon Fine Furniture, London
Private Collection, New York

The other four pedestals remain in the collection of the Earl of Radnor at Longford Castle, Wiltshire.

Stock number

U03.12
Height: 53¹/₂ in (136 cm)
Width: 13 in (33 cm)
Depth: 13 in (33 cm)
From the collections of the Earls of Radnor, Longford Castle

Attributed to Benjamin Goodison

An outstanding and highly important pair of George II carved giltwood and gilt-gesso pedestals attributed to Benjamin Goodison made for Longford Castle, Wiltshire. Each square top with a gilt-gesso carved foliate spray and cartouche border above a swag-draped oak leaf frieze, the tapering pedestals with sanded panels mounted with ribbon-tied fruit and flower sprays, the sides with C-scrolls and acanthus, and standing on plinth bases.


 
C. Hussey, ‘For the Connoisseur: Furniture at Longford Castle-I’, Country Life, 12 December 1931, p. 682, fig. 8.
C. Hussey, ‘Longford Castle-II’, Country Life, 19 December 1931, p. 699, fig. 7.
J. Cornforth, ‘Longford and the Bouveries’, Country Life Annual, London, 1968, fig. 13 - 14.
A. Smith, "Acquisition, Patronage and Display: Contextualising the art collections of Longford Castle during the long eighteenth century". Doctoral Thesis, Birkbeck, University of London, 2017.
A. Smith, Longford Castle: The Treasures and the Collection, London, 2017, fig. 26 & 28.
P. Macquoid, History of English Furniture, vol. III, p. 77
Country Life, vol. CXXXXIX, no 3605 (advertisement for Mereworth Castle), 7 April 1966 (illustrated)
Country Life, 2 May 1968, Christie's advertisement (illustrated)
Alternate Text enquire

Alternate Text +44 (0)20 7839 5671

Alternate Text +44 (0)7725 332 665