55
A matching George III giltwood stool and window seat, circa 1790s, possibly by Gillows
A matching George III giltwood stool and window seat, circa 1790s, possibly by Gillows
in the French Louis XVI manner, the window seat with scrolled and ribbon-carved supports, both with a carved frieze with rosette paterae at the corners, the fluted legs terminating in toupie feet, covered with later deep-buttoned grey upholstery
Provenance
William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (1759-1834) for Dropmore, Buckinghamshire (alongside eighteen armchairs)
Sold by order of the executors of the late Viscount Kelmsley,
Sotheby & Co, The Valuable Contents of Dropmore, Burnham, Buckinghamshire, 18th-20th March 1969, as part of lot 114, ill. p.33 and 39.
Bonhams London, 3rd November 2010, lots 43 and 44
Catalogue note
Dropmore in Buckinghamshire was built for William Wyndham Grenville, who served as Prime Minister from 1806 to 1807. It was constructed while he was still serving as Foreign Secretary in the mid-1790s, and both architects Samuel Wyatt and Charles Heathcote Tatham were employed in its design. This some chairs from the suite of seat furniture to which this window seat belongs are visible in the Country Life photos taken at Dropmore, published in 1956. Other matching chairs from the suite have appeared at auction with confirmed Dropmore provenance, such as the pair sold at Sotheby's London, 26th November 2003, lot 136.
Though there are no surviving documents that record the furnishings of Dropmore, Grenville's name appears in the Gillows Estimate Sketch Books in 1796, and Wyatt also worked with Gillows on other major commissions such as Tatton Park - it is therefore a strong possibility that Gillows could have provided the furniture for Dropmore. A sketch for a very similar shield-back chair to the ones in this suite with rosettes at the corners is recorded in the Gillows Estimate Sketch Books, relating to a commission for Robert Peel in 1786.1
1 This illustration is reproduced in Susan E. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London, 1730-1840, vol I, Woodbridge, 2009, p.181, pl.147.
Additional Notices & Disclaimers
Please note that Condition 12 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
A matching George III giltwood stool and window seat, circa 1790s, possibly by Gillows
in the French Louis XVI manner, the window seat with scrolled and ribbon-carved supports, both with a carved frieze with rosette paterae at the corners, the fluted legs terminating in toupie feet, covered with later deep-buttoned grey upholstery
Provenance
William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (1759-1834) for Dropmore, Buckinghamshire (alongside eighteen armchairs)
Sold by order of the executors of the late Viscount Kelmsley,
Sotheby & Co, The Valuable Contents of Dropmore, Burnham, Buckinghamshire, 18th-20th March 1969, as part of lot 114, ill. p.33 and 39.
Bonhams London, 3rd November 2010, lots 43 and 44
Catalogue note
Dropmore in Buckinghamshire was built for William Wyndham Grenville, who served as Prime Minister from 1806 to 1807. It was constructed while he was still serving as Foreign Secretary in the mid-1790s, and both architects Samuel Wyatt and Charles Heathcote Tatham were employed in its design. This some chairs from the suite of seat furniture to which this window seat belongs are visible in the Country Life photos taken at Dropmore, published in 1956. Other matching chairs from the suite have appeared at auction with confirmed Dropmore provenance, such as the pair sold at Sotheby's London, 26th November 2003, lot 136.
Though there are no surviving documents that record the furnishings of Dropmore, Grenville's name appears in the Gillows Estimate Sketch Books in 1796, and Wyatt also worked with Gillows on other major commissions such as Tatton Park - it is therefore a strong possibility that Gillows could have provided the furniture for Dropmore. A sketch for a very similar shield-back chair to the ones in this suite with rosettes at the corners is recorded in the Gillows Estimate Sketch Books, relating to a commission for Robert Peel in 1786.1
1 This illustration is reproduced in Susan E. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London, 1730-1840, vol I, Woodbridge, 2009, p.181, pl.147.
Additional Notices & Disclaimers
Please note that Condition 12 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
Classic Design: Furniture, Clocks, Silver & Ceramics
Sale Date(s)
Venue Address
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