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拍品專文
This rare dining-room pedestal can confidently be associated with the work of two of the greatest names in furniture and architecture Thomas Chippendale (d. 1779) and Robert Adam (d. 1792). Closely related pedestals designed by Adam for the niches of the great drawing-room at Derby House, London, in 1774 display a shared classical vocabulary, they are visible in an engraving by Bernardetto Pastorini supporting griffin-borne urns (The works in architecture of Robert and James Adam, vol. II, pt. I, pl. V, 1779) (see lot 309). A similar concept was adopted in 1774 by Adam for the Earl of Bute at Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire, where swagged ram's masks pedestals supported candle-branches, ensuite with a pair of early 17th century Venetian bronze andirons by Nicolo Roccatagliata and Andrea di Alessandro Bresciano, which had been acquired by Bute in Italy between 1769-1771 (The works in architecture, vol. I, pt. III, pl. VIII, 1778). Furthermore, comparable scrolling acanthus leaves with lion's paw feet are featured on torchéres designed by Adam for the great drawing-room at Apsley House, London; these were based on a 2nd century Roman candelabra from Santa Costanza, Rome, now in the Salle dei Candelabri II in the Vatican Museum (E. Harris, The Genius of Robert Adam: His Interiors, New Haven and London, 2001, p. 15, fig. 11). Interestingly, the distinctive satyr-mask handles swagged with husks, which are cast in bronze although now painted over, are identical to those employed by Thomas Chippendale Senior on the wine cellaret supplied in 1771 for Chippendale's most valuable commission, Harewood House, Yorkshire (C. Gilbert, The Life & Work of Thomas Chippendale, London, 1978, vol. II, p.80, fig. 125) whilst the corners of the Harewood dining room pedestals en suite are mounted with similarly conceived husk-swagged ram's masks, but there are completed in ormolu. The delicately conceived yet bold three dimensional carving of the berried-husk swags is apparently identical in execution to that used by Chippendale to decorate the friezes of the Harewood music room pier tables, which again display closely related satyr-masks, (ibid., p. 260, figs. 474-5). These boldly carved husk swags in combination with prominent ram's masks also feature elsewhere at Harwood as well as at another of Chippendale's important Yorkshire commissions, Nostell Priory and are typical of his oeuvre.
The present pedestal intended for a grand dining-room is both impressive and functional. Remarkably it retains its original internal fittings for the warming of plates, and would have accommodated either a spirit burner or more likely hot coals to the recess at the centre of the base panel. Another rare feature is that it opens from the back suggesting the pedestal was not intended to be placed against a wall as convention dictated. Inspired undoubtedly by James 'Athenian' Stuart (d. 1788), Adam produced a design for a dining room recess, comprising three carved tables flanked by pairs of pedestals, the whole reminiscent of Roman pedestal altars. This pedestal was almost certainly conceived as one of a pair, its correspondent, whereabouts unknown, possibly containing a pot cupboard or cellarette. Each pedestal would have been surmounted by urns containing a knife box, cistern or a facility for rinsing utensils during meals which together would have created an impressive ensemble. The figure of Ceres, the harvest god, who is often portrayed with a snake, on the front of this pedestal is an appropriate motif for a grand dining-room, and suggests that the companion pedestal possibly depicted Bacchus as the two deities were often used as pendants.
Analysis of the paint has revealed that this pedestal has been decorated up to seven times but that the present scheme dates to pre 1930. The tests indicated that the original decoration was pale blue with highlights picked out in white.
The present pedestal intended for a grand dining-room is both impressive and functional. Remarkably it retains its original internal fittings for the warming of plates, and would have accommodated either a spirit burner or more likely hot coals to the recess at the centre of the base panel. Another rare feature is that it opens from the back suggesting the pedestal was not intended to be placed against a wall as convention dictated. Inspired undoubtedly by James 'Athenian' Stuart (d. 1788), Adam produced a design for a dining room recess, comprising three carved tables flanked by pairs of pedestals, the whole reminiscent of Roman pedestal altars. This pedestal was almost certainly conceived as one of a pair, its correspondent, whereabouts unknown, possibly containing a pot cupboard or cellarette. Each pedestal would have been surmounted by urns containing a knife box, cistern or a facility for rinsing utensils during meals which together would have created an impressive ensemble. The figure of Ceres, the harvest god, who is often portrayed with a snake, on the front of this pedestal is an appropriate motif for a grand dining-room, and suggests that the companion pedestal possibly depicted Bacchus as the two deities were often used as pendants.
Analysis of the paint has revealed that this pedestal has been decorated up to seven times but that the present scheme dates to pre 1930. The tests indicated that the original decoration was pale blue with highlights picked out in white.