Michael Lake
Head of Department
Lot 65TP
A pair of large and impressive 19th century step-cut ten light chandeliers attributed to Perry & Co.
25 October 2017, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £31,250 inc. premium
Looking for a similar item?
Our Home and Interiors specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
A pair of large and impressive 19th century step-cut ten light chandeliers attributed to Perry & Co.
the alternating high and low spiral twist scrolling arms with cylindrical metal nozzles and later diamond moulded dished drip pans issuing from a vertical reeded ogee bowl receiver, the similarly decorated panelled composite baluster shaft surmounted by a tiered canopied corona below a bulbous bowl and ring suspension, the whole hung with faceted glass button and pear shaped pendant drops and strung with strings of faceted glass buttons, the similarly hung knopped lower canopy with elongated chip cut and faceted ball pendant terminal, with alterations and adaptations, the upper section of one shaft replaced, the arms and bowl receivers fitted for electricity, 160cm drop approximately. (2)
Footnotes
Provenance:
By repute Dublin Castle, Dublin.
Acquired by Vincenzo Forte (1906-1977), a member of the Forte hospitality dynasty for his house in Poole, Dorset circa 1964.
Designs for Perry & Co chandeliers are held at the V&A Museum archive (no.95 C 85) and found in a 44-page volume sketch book by Mr Bartlett, the designer for Perry & Co. This pair 10 light chandeliers relate to pages 2 and 4 from the sketch book for the period 1867-1879 and shows clearly the form, style and drops associated with Perry & Co at this time.
The firm of Perry & Co. were makers of cut glass chandeliers, lustres and candelabra who were established in 1817 with premises in New Bond Street, London. The firm had previously traded as Parker and Perry and had been founded by William Parker in 1756 and counted the Royal family amongst it many patrons. Perry supplied the Prince of Wales at Carlton House. In 1822 William Perry was joined in the firm by his nephew George and from then they traded as William and George Perry. William Perry retired in 1841 when George's brother Richard joined the firm. They continued to trade from New Bond Street until 1890 when the firm moved to Grafton Street.
For a history of Perry & Co. see M.Mortimer, The English Chandelier, Suffolk 2000, pp.150-155. A pair of related chandeliers were sold Sotheby's, London, 5 July 1996, lot 133. A related single Perry & Co chandelier is illustrated by M.Mortimer ibid., pl.92. Other related chandeliers attributed to Perry & Co. include a smaller single example Christie's New York, 18 October 2001, lot 344 and a further single example from the collection of Mr and Mrs Jack Warner, 12 October 1990, lot 130.
Vincenzo Forte was born in 1906 in Greenock, Scotland, to Italian immigrants from the tiny village, Mortale, Casalattico, Italy, from which many of the Forte family originated. He was in the ice cream and cafe business and moved down to the South coast of England in the 1930s along with many other members of the Forte family. He moved with his brother Tony and settled in the Somerset and Dorset area, marrying Lillian Wride in 1937 in Weston-Super-Mare. Vincenzo and his brother Tony ran restaurants and cafes, known as Fortes in the Bournmouth area. Vincent died in 1977 in Poole, leaving his wife and no children. His wife Lillian died in 2013. Vincenzo was a cousin of Charles Forte, Baron Forte (1908–2007).