ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN COBB, CIRCA 1765, THE CARVING POSSIBLY BY SEFFERIN ALKEN

JOHN COBB: ROYAL CABINET-MAKER
John Cobb (d. 1778) was the son-in-law of the renowned early 18th Century cabinet-maker Giles Grendey (d. 1780), a leading manufacturer of furniture for export during the reign of George II. In 1751, he established his partnership with William Vile (d. 1767) and expanded four years later to absorb the neighboring St. Martin's Lane premises of William Hallett (d. 1781). A notice published in the Gentleman's Magazine of 6 September 1783 advertises that Cobb was 'formerly a partner with the late Mr Hallett of Cannons'.

On the accension of George III, Vile and Cobb were granted a royal warrant in 1761 to supply furniture to the Crown under the direction of the Master of the Great Wardrobe. Some of their most celebrated Royal commissions are discussed by Geoffrey Beard, 'Vile and Cobb, eighteenth-century London furniture makers', Antiques, June 1990, pp. 1394-1405.

THE CARVER: SEFFERIN ALKEN
A master carver of Danish descent, Sefferin Alken (1717-1783) worked extensively with many of London's top cabinet-making firms, often providing furniture to the designs of Robert Adam. Upon the specific request from Lord Coventry, he was employed for the specialist carving on chairs supplied by John Cobb at Croome Court in 1765 to Adam's designs. In Alken's collaboration with Cobb, his work was accounted for as part of Cobb's invoice ('carving all the arms and front feet, all the rest carved by Mr. Alken', see C. Musgrave, Adam and Hepplewhite and other Neo-Classical Furniture, 1966, fig. 58).

In addition to the distinctive metalwork, in the form of berried vines encircling a leafy cabochon, the use of concave fillets is also a feature associated with the production of John Cobb's workshop. Another commode attributed to Cobb and in the same rare sabicu with a gadrooned ormolu rim and elaborate pierced angles was sold from the Exceptional Sale, Christie's, London, 5 July 2012, lot 37 (£205,250).

HURSLEY PARK
Hursley House in Hampshire was built from 1721-1724 by William Heathcote, MP, who purchased the estate from the son of Richard Cromwell. The estate remained in the family until sold to Sir George Cooper (d. 1940) in 1902. Cooper, one of Britain's newly rich, was married to a Chicago heiress (Mary Emma Smith) and they commissioned architect A. Marshall Mackenzie & Son (who designed the Waldorf Hotel in London) to enlarge and improve the house. Sir Joseph Duveen and Sir Charles Allom created the interiors, largely in the Palladian style, importing paneling from other sources and making it a showcase with the display of English portraits and French works of art (J. Harris, Moving Rooms, New Haven, 2007, pp. 87-90). Duveen produced a lavish catalogue of the collection (privately printed) in 1912. The George Cooper records in the Duveen archives do not appear to list the commode. It is not clear if any of the furnishings at Hursley were sold to the Coopers but the Heathcotes were patrons of Chippendale, and presumably other top makers. The Coopers also owned a London home at 26 Grosvenor Square (the present location of the American Embassy) and an estate in Scotland.