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Lot Essay
This grandly scaled side table with its distinctive elephant mask is part of an incredibly rare group of Palladian furniture which features this unique emblem. Essentially an anomaly for furniture from this period, it comprises a pair of settees and a pair of stools supplied to Hugh Fortescue (1696-1751), 14th Baron Clinton and 1st Earl Fortescue for Castle Hill, Devon, of which the stools are also in the Ann and Gordon Getty Collection (lot 12 in the Evening Sale); and a pier table supplied to John, 1st Earl Poulett (d.1743), for Hinton House, Somerset. Palladianism’s origins lie in Lord Burlington’s fascination with architecture, especially the work of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508-1580). Burlington brought Palladio’s four volume architectural treatise I quattro libri dell'architettura with him on his Grand Tour of Rome and Northern Italy in 1719 and, upon his return to England, he devoted himself to rebuilding his London residence, Burlington House, as a monument to this new aesthetic. Due to Lord Burlington’s evangelism, influence and his disciples, most notably the architect designers William Kent (1685-1748) and Henry Flitcroft (1697-1769), Palladianism became the de facto style for any significant public or private building.
A much earlier pier table designed by William Kent supplied to Ditchley Park circa 1726 and carved by James Richards (S. Weber, William Kent Designing Georgian Britain, New Haven, 2013, p. 491, fig.18.31) was clearly the template for a pair of subsequent tables now at Temple Newsam [LEEAGFU.1954.009], reproduced online, which closely relate to the present lot. Their design is attributed to Kent’s former assistant, Henry Flitcroft, who from 1736-41 completed the interiors at Ditchley Park. Intriguingly, a third, virtually identical table in both form and construction now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art [1926.45] was formerly in the collection of the Dukes of Hamilton at Hamilton Palace, Scotland, as documented in a 1919 Country Life illustration of the Great Stone Hall; sadly, its earlier provenance is unknown (P. Patris, ‘Recreating the Context of the Met Side Table, Furniture History Newsletter, No. 218, May 2020, pp.1-7).
A nearly identical drawing by Matthias Lock (fl.1724-1769) now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (reproduced online) has been the basis of the attribution for the Temple Newsam and the Metropolitan Museum of Art tables. A further connection to Lock’s involvement with the present table is made through the pier table featuring an elephant supplied to Hinton House. Lock is recorded supplying another pier table and a matching mirror to Hinton in 1745 which are now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum [W.35:1, 2-1964, W.8-1960]. Lock was unique among his contemporaries for being a published designer in his own right as well as a talented carver. It would be a matter of moments for Lock, after seeing or perhaps even carving the Hinton elephant table, to alter his drawing to resemble the present pier table for an unknown patron. This was a common practice among architects, designers and craftsmen who were either inspired by each other or reworked existing designs for subsequent commissions.
THE PROVENANCE
The pier table was sold as part of the contents of Coworth Park, Berkshire, after the death of Alice, Countess of Derby (1862-1957). The daughter of the 7th Duke of Manchester (1823-1890), it is possible the table was brought from Kimbolton Castle, their principal seat, upon her marriage to Edward Stanley (1865-1948), the 17th Earl of Derby. He was a Conservative politician, diplomat and scion of a legendary horse racing family and likely purchased Coworth Park in 1899 for its close proximity to Ascot. It became the Countess’ principal residence after the Earl of Derby’s death in 1948. Kimbolton Castle underwent a large renovation and refurbishment under the Baroque architect John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) from 1700-1710, which undoubtedly prompted the 4th Earl and later 1st Duke of Manchester (1662-1722) to purchase giltwood furniture in Italy for its interiors. They could have inspired the commission of a subsequent pair of consoles and a stand for a chest also at Kimbolton as part of a Palladian refreshment by one of his two immediate successors, either the 2nd Duke (d. 1739) or the 3rd Duke (d. 1762). As seen in a surviving image of the chest on stand, all of them feature a pair of spread-winged eagles supporting a Vitruvian scroll-carved frieze centered with a shell (H.A. Tipping, In English Homes Period IV Vol I, New York, 1920, p. 294, fig. 370). It would not be surprising if the present console was a continuation of this Palladian era refurbishment for Kimbolton or perhaps their London townhouse.
LADY D’AVIGDOR GOLDSMID
Lady (Rosemary) D’Avigdor Goldsmid (1914-1998) was the Anglican widow of Sir Henry D’Avigdor-Goldsmid, 2nd Bt. (1909-1976), the descendant of a family of Anglo-Jewish financiers and politicians who were awarded the first Jewish baronetcy. Their principal seat was Somerhill, Kent which was purchased by Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid (1778-1859) and greatly extended between 1879 and 1897, making it the second largest house in the county, after Knole House, Sevenoaks. After the Second World War, Lady D’Avigdor-Goldsmid held such lavish entertainments that she compared Somerhill to a hotel, “except the guests didn’t pay.” Some of the contents of Somerhill were sold on the premises by Lady D’Avigdor-Goldsmid and her sole surviving child, Mrs. James Teacher, by Sotheby’s, 23 June 1981. The current pier table was not included in this sale and may have been in her London residence or retained. However, a small glimpse of interest in Kentian furniture is revealed in a hall bench (lot 124) which shares many stylistic parallels with this pier table.
A much earlier pier table designed by William Kent supplied to Ditchley Park circa 1726 and carved by James Richards (S. Weber, William Kent Designing Georgian Britain, New Haven, 2013, p. 491, fig.18.31) was clearly the template for a pair of subsequent tables now at Temple Newsam [LEEAGFU.1954.009], reproduced online, which closely relate to the present lot. Their design is attributed to Kent’s former assistant, Henry Flitcroft, who from 1736-41 completed the interiors at Ditchley Park. Intriguingly, a third, virtually identical table in both form and construction now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art [1926.45] was formerly in the collection of the Dukes of Hamilton at Hamilton Palace, Scotland, as documented in a 1919 Country Life illustration of the Great Stone Hall; sadly, its earlier provenance is unknown (P. Patris, ‘Recreating the Context of the Met Side Table, Furniture History Newsletter, No. 218, May 2020, pp.1-7).
A nearly identical drawing by Matthias Lock (fl.1724-1769) now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (reproduced online) has been the basis of the attribution for the Temple Newsam and the Metropolitan Museum of Art tables. A further connection to Lock’s involvement with the present table is made through the pier table featuring an elephant supplied to Hinton House. Lock is recorded supplying another pier table and a matching mirror to Hinton in 1745 which are now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum [W.35:1, 2-1964, W.8-1960]. Lock was unique among his contemporaries for being a published designer in his own right as well as a talented carver. It would be a matter of moments for Lock, after seeing or perhaps even carving the Hinton elephant table, to alter his drawing to resemble the present pier table for an unknown patron. This was a common practice among architects, designers and craftsmen who were either inspired by each other or reworked existing designs for subsequent commissions.
THE PROVENANCE
The pier table was sold as part of the contents of Coworth Park, Berkshire, after the death of Alice, Countess of Derby (1862-1957). The daughter of the 7th Duke of Manchester (1823-1890), it is possible the table was brought from Kimbolton Castle, their principal seat, upon her marriage to Edward Stanley (1865-1948), the 17th Earl of Derby. He was a Conservative politician, diplomat and scion of a legendary horse racing family and likely purchased Coworth Park in 1899 for its close proximity to Ascot. It became the Countess’ principal residence after the Earl of Derby’s death in 1948. Kimbolton Castle underwent a large renovation and refurbishment under the Baroque architect John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) from 1700-1710, which undoubtedly prompted the 4th Earl and later 1st Duke of Manchester (1662-1722) to purchase giltwood furniture in Italy for its interiors. They could have inspired the commission of a subsequent pair of consoles and a stand for a chest also at Kimbolton as part of a Palladian refreshment by one of his two immediate successors, either the 2nd Duke (d. 1739) or the 3rd Duke (d. 1762). As seen in a surviving image of the chest on stand, all of them feature a pair of spread-winged eagles supporting a Vitruvian scroll-carved frieze centered with a shell (H.A. Tipping, In English Homes Period IV Vol I, New York, 1920, p. 294, fig. 370). It would not be surprising if the present console was a continuation of this Palladian era refurbishment for Kimbolton or perhaps their London townhouse.
LADY D’AVIGDOR GOLDSMID
Lady (Rosemary) D’Avigdor Goldsmid (1914-1998) was the Anglican widow of Sir Henry D’Avigdor-Goldsmid, 2nd Bt. (1909-1976), the descendant of a family of Anglo-Jewish financiers and politicians who were awarded the first Jewish baronetcy. Their principal seat was Somerhill, Kent which was purchased by Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid (1778-1859) and greatly extended between 1879 and 1897, making it the second largest house in the county, after Knole House, Sevenoaks. After the Second World War, Lady D’Avigdor-Goldsmid held such lavish entertainments that she compared Somerhill to a hotel, “except the guests didn’t pay.” Some of the contents of Somerhill were sold on the premises by Lady D’Avigdor-Goldsmid and her sole surviving child, Mrs. James Teacher, by Sotheby’s, 23 June 1981. The current pier table was not included in this sale and may have been in her London residence or retained. However, a small glimpse of interest in Kentian furniture is revealed in a hall bench (lot 124) which shares many stylistic parallels with this pier table.