BULLETIN : APRIL 2008
THE ORIENT…..THE SILKEN ROUTE OF INSPIRATION AND INFLUENCE….
Oriental Art and Western Art influenced by the Orient exerts an enigmatic, strong and subtle fascination which puts it into a world and class of its own. For the individual this can reveal itself when one focuses on a decorative piece or feature which previously was a familiar background everyday object such as Willow Pattern Design on crockery or the Chinese influence in European Rococo design as seen on carved antique wood fireplaces see stock nos… and 9605 the oil painted canvas screen which imitates..quite charmingly ..Japanese and Chinese lacquer work extending back into the millennium .

Another example in our present stock is 9576, a delightful small red lacquered and gilded carved antique wood chimneypiece in the George II Manner , which again imitates Oriental lacquer work. ( Currently undergoing restoration ).

The present emphasis on the Orient is nothing new…well predated by cross influences between the Portuguese, Spanish, the Dutch the French and the British from the 15th through to the 18th Centuries and was celebrated memorably in the early 19th century by the Brighton Pavilion and in the later 19th by Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado inspired by exhibitions in Victorian London.

Well chosen examples of even the most unacedemic but stylistically valid and honest quality products from or inspired by the Orient can give great pleasure and delight by the very different nature of their conception, and execution ……VIVE LA DIFFERENCE !

Recently updated on our website :
8273. An interesting pair of Japanese street entertainers in spelter . They would originally have supported acrobatic children as part of their act. Japanese 19th century from the much earlier bronze originals.

BULLETIN : MARCH 2008
We welcome in 2008, our 39th year in operation and look forward to at least another 39 years… finding , restoring, researching and presenting a collection of remarkable Architectural Antiques, Elements and Fireplace Mantels…. Unique and constantly changing…….. originating down the centuries from the British Isles, Ireland, Italy, France, Flanders, Spain etc.

Provenance…. Pedigree:
An interesting aspect in this vast and varied field that progresses from the comfortably decorative to sheer pageantry , is that of provenance…where it came from, its life story , its pedigree…
Research is a complex business in itself, requiring skill and experience and time! But sometimes we are lucky to have enough leads to be able to pin down at least a part of an items history. To quote a few examples over the last 20 years or so….

1202: This Fabulous Panelled room was built for LORD MELCHETTS boardroom at his new headquarters building for IMPERIAL CHEMICAL INDUSTIRES LTD, just by Lambeth Bridge in the 1930’s. It was removed in the 1980’s by Sir John Harvey Jones, put into storage then later bought by us.

2528: The exquisite red lacquered panelled interior of the SAVOY LIFT CAR, also from the 1930’s, removed in the 1970’s.Who travelled in that lift one wonders… Tallulah Bankhead, Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Winston, Marilyn…….?.

1920: Is an extraordinary black Ebony veneered panelled room in the Louis XV Rococo manner, made by THE BROMSGROVE GUILD in the 19th century for installation at 74, Great Stanhope street, next to Dorchester House which was to become the Dorchester Hotel. This unique and glamorous interior cladding was bought by us in the closing down sale of the great family architectural business of Crowthers of North End Road, Fulham, which had existed back into the 19th century and had supplied Royalty and European and latterly Hollywood greats from then through to the 1930’s and beyond.


RECENT ACQUISITIONS…..TWO RATHER OUT OF THE ORDINARY EXOTIC WOOD CHIMNEYPIECES ;

9761 , A large 19th century Arts and Crafts chimneypiece with a tall hood in oak attributed to Bruce James Talbert , Architect , decorater 1838-1881, the very fine carved decoration by Christopher Dresser, 1834-1904, “perhaps the greatest of 19c commercial designers, imposing his fantasy and invention upon the ordinary output of British industry.” .... English circa 1850.

9689 , A French Gothic Revival walnut chimneypiece. The hooded overmantel with carved foliage at the corners, above a frieze centred by a strapwork shield cartouche centred by a carved letter B, flanked to each side by seated mythological beasts and a frieze of mouchettes …… French circa 1850.

 

Bulletin: December 2007 : Warm Greetings and Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

November marked the 30th anniversary of our presence at St Michaels , Leonard Street , London , EC2….. After 30 years of shared occupation in this vaulted and cloistered English Heritage Grade I Listed location, Westlands have continued to evolve and extend their display into the whole interior so that that there are now 16 large galleries showing a very comprehensive selection of antique chimneypieces , fire grates , furniture , lighting , architectural elements and ornamentation of all kinds, on two levels and in the courtyard.

This extraordinary environment of interconnecting galleries of ever changing intimate settings and panoramic vistas abundantly stocked unfolding before visitors …. "takes your breath away"……… The variety and "splendidity" of the venue…to quote Woody Allen… is fascinating , informative and inviting ..providing a tranquilly pleasing , wandering , browsing experience approaching that of a compact museum .
Set in a park environnment on the West side , in the bustling Sophisticated South Shoreditch Triangle on the City of London financial center’s doorstep , well complimented with fine restaurants , art galleries & hotels ….you will find Westland London…. "at the sign of the Ascot Racecourse Clockface "

 

Bulletin: August 2007 : ROYAL ASCOT RACECOURSE GRANDSTAND CLOCK CHAPTER RING.

9376. The Ascot racecourse has been in existence since Queen Anne offered the first prize , Her Majesty’s plate in 1711. The last Grandstand replaced the one built in the 19th century and which was demolished in the 1960’s…..The great cast iron Chapter Rings were reinstated on the new Clocktower and when this again was demolished in 2004 we purchased them. We have now fully restored them and one was this week swung into its box steel cradle over the heads of Sophisticated South Shoreditchers using a 42 tonne Fossi Gru mobile hydraulic crane onto the remnants of the wall of a block of tenements that occupied the site of our courtyard until 1982.

The clock will shortly be fully working and illuminated at night providing a classic circular landmark to compete with or complement the strange X centered disc further up Leonard Street that has been rumoured to be a monument to the late Malcolm X…

Bulletin: JULY 2007: English Alabaster.

6389 are a pair of Antique English Alabaster Chimneypieces . Described as "Substantial and Very Worthy" they represented the very essence of early Victorian respectability , moral fibre and unadorned financial prosperity.

The material , Derbyshire Alabaster, was extensively quarried in the 15th century and was a major export. It was worked into ornamental internal structures such as Church altars and statues. A famous example of the use is in Holkham Hall in Derbyshire where the entrance hall has massive fluted columns made from the material. This occurred until the late 19th century when supply in quantity seems to have been exhausted.

Other examples of this soft, pleasant marble like material are 8987 an Arts & Crafts fireplace, 8869 a Medieval style hunting frieze , and 7613 a massive Jacobean panelled screen…both the latter now ensconced in a large property near Moscow.

Bulletin: JUNE 2007:

8874. is a most unusual and extremely effective combination of The Rococo Revival , The Ingenious Industrial North and one of Geology’s most beautiful creations…Greek Cippolino Marble. Made in an era when decorative cast iron was the latest Hi Tech material, it still has something of the Avant Garde about it probably due to the combination with the Cippolino.

9489. An English Regency Collectors Cabinet in Macassa Ebony. A very smart item shown here before revival of the polish , but already evident is the frequent understated sophistication of the English Regency period , which often anticipated the best in Art Deco…that , together with the “ dazzling “ tiger stripe black Macassa Ebony presents a

Highly desirable , compact and functional item.

7093. “ John Soane “ Obelisk Chimneypiece…chosen for this bulletin….not because it is also unpolished…. but that it would accompany 9489 very well in a Library or Drawing Room setting, being also of an architectural concept and scale.

Bulletin: May 2007: RECENT ARRIVALS.

INTERESTING DECORATIVE ELEMENTS FOR THE INTERIOR.
9381 is a pair of antique carved walnut Italian CASAPANCA, 19th century in the Florentine Renaissance manner. The word in Italian means ' House Bench ' and has stowage space under the seat flap . It was derived from Cassone or coffer. These are very well carved grandiosely styled antique architectural objects as well as prestigious furniture .

8447 is a very smart sophisticated antique English Regency fireplace mantel in “ deep black “ Namur marble. The web image shows it before completion of the repeated polishing cycles which will revive the original natural black sheen. This is a great part of its allure….together with the pleasing understatement and perfect proportions and mouldings. An antique fireplace for a very contemporary hi-tech interior.

In stark contrast and therefore quite compatible to 8447 is 9279 an extremely rare English antique silver plated Thomas Elkington register fire grate. Like the Casapanca this has very strong antique architectural decorative qualities , apart from its functional use…. So much so one is tempted to place it higher on the wall than its intended location…

Bulletin: April 2007: Recent Stock Acquisitions:

8976 is a very grand and impressive Giltwood and marble antique fireplace mantel in the Venetian Baroque manner worthy of a very splendid Baroque Palazzo in Venice.

Also Italian but this time from Genoa is 9316 , a most charming , small and rare antique Italian Neo Classical carved marble fire place mantle, with a concave frieze and shelf with delightful decoration typical of the period.

9317 is a large and very finely carved Scottish chimneypiece. This beautiful antique fireplace mantel is in the rich and gracious Italianate Neo Classical style and would complement the glamorous and stylish interior decoration of a splendid Milanese residence.