Thomas Moore
Head of Department
Lot 55TP
A pair of George III mahogany and kingwood crossbanded urns and pedestals Circa 1780, of Gillows quality
29 November 2022, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £10,837.50 inc. premium
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A pair of George III mahogany and kingwood crossbanded urns and pedestals
Circa 1780, of Gillows quality
With boxwood stringing, each urn wrapped with an alternating reeded and fluted band, the body carved with oak-leaf swags and husk festoons interspersed by flowerhead roundels, with an egg-and-dart collar, the detachable lid with a gadroon carved edge and stiff-leaf clasped upper part surmounted by a pinecone finial, one pedestal with a graduated triple re-entrant panelled and triple tablet inlaid door enclosing one shelf, the other pedestal with three graduated mahogany lined drawers of conforming appearance, on plinth bases, both urns with their metal linings to the interior now missing, both inscribed in white chalk: 'ALTMAYER HARRIS', each urn and pedestal approximately: 49cm wide x 48cm deep x 167cm high, (19in wide x 18 1/2in deep x 65 1/2in high) (2)
With boxwood stringing, each urn wrapped with an alternating reeded and fluted band, the body carved with oak-leaf swags and husk festoons interspersed by flowerhead roundels, with an egg-and-dart collar, the detachable lid with a gadroon carved edge and stiff-leaf clasped upper part surmounted by a pinecone finial, one pedestal with a graduated triple re-entrant panelled and triple tablet inlaid door enclosing one shelf, the other pedestal with three graduated mahogany lined drawers of conforming appearance, on plinth bases, both urns with their metal linings to the interior now missing, both inscribed in white chalk: 'ALTMAYER HARRIS', each urn and pedestal approximately: 49cm wide x 48cm deep x 167cm high, (19in wide x 18 1/2in deep x 65 1/2in high) (2)
Footnotes
Provenance
The present lot was apparently previously acquired from M. Harris and Sons, London, possibly during the 1950s.
Thereafter the offered urns and pedestals were purchased by the current owner and vendor, Christie's, New York, 19 January 2017, Palmetto Hall: The Jay P. Altmayer Family Collection, lot 65.
The offered urns and pedestals appear in M. Harris and Sons, A Catalogue and Index of Old Furniture and Works of Art, London, n.d. (circa 1930), No. F20869, p. 407.
Two related pairs of urns and pedestals are illustrated in S. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London, 1730-1840, Vol. I, 2008, Woodbridge, pl.'s 342-347, pp.'s 309-310. One pair made during the late 1770s, which is attributed to Gillows, was supplied for Thirsk Hall, North Yorkshire upon behalf of John Bell whilst the other pair, dating to circa 1780, were provided to the Weld family of Lulworth Castle, in Dorset.
Of additional interest are a group of three designs for 'pedestals and vases' by George Hepplewhite, first published posthumously in 1787 within The Cabinet-Maker's and Upholsterer's Guide, also featuring in the 1794 third edition, re-published 1969, Toronto, pl. 36. Across these drawings a number of similar characteristics are shared with the present example, including equivalent swag and festoon carving, comparable stiff-leaf clasped elements and re-entrant panelling, along with analogous crossbanding. The same Hepplewhite designs are also replicated in D. Nickerson, English Furniture of the 18th Century, 1967, Frankfurt, fig. 101, p. 95.
