Premier Items

Stock: 16883

A large and grand French Baroque style fireplace in a warm brocatelle marble. This boldly carved fireplace has a layered shelf over a panelled frieze which is centred by a Baroque cartouche. This is supported by deep, canted console jambs which frames the gently arched opening.

French, mid-19th century.

	Width	Height	Depth
External	74" 188 cms	49 7⁄8" 126.8 cms	20 1⁄8" 51 cms
Internal	42 11⁄16" 108.5 cms	39 3⁄8" 100 cms
Outer footblock	66 1⁄8" 168 cms

Stock: 16850

An exceptional eight branch crystal chandelier by Baccarat. A celebration of skilled glassblowing, this chandelier has a central stem of twisted form, which is echoed by the swan neck arms. The whole is hung with faceted beats and prismatic drops.
This chandelier still comes with its original certificate of authenticity dated to 1978.

French, c.1970.

Notes: Baccarat was founded in 1764 by Royal Decree in the town of the same name, to counter the influx of fine glassware from Bohemia. The company first manufactured mirrors and stemware, but branched out to chandeliers and crystal glass making. Their name is synonymous with the finest quality crystal and the firm still manufacture glassware today.

View our collection of: Antique chandeliers.

	Diameter	Height
	26" 66 cms	39 13⁄16" 101 cms

Stock: 16820

A magnificent pair of enormous 17th century limestone capitals. Once, these capitals would have graced the grand doorway of stone building, being raised high above eye level and perhaps supporting a grand pediment. Now, they are raised on the original column bases. The capitals loosely conform to the composite order, with acanthus leaves carved at their base and the torsos of four fauns bearing the weight of the abacus, each side centred by the mask of a putto.

Northern Italy, c.1680.

Notes: These capitals have at some point been used as the base for a console table, with two flat pieces of newer stone fitted to their tops. We can make a top for these capitals in our workshops if desired.

View our collection of: decorative antiques and furnishings

	Width	Height	Depth
	18 1⁄2" 47 cms	35" 89 cms	18 1⁄8" 46 cms

Stock: 15964

A very fine and large giltwood Venetian wall mirror. The frame is surmounted by a floral crest above an oval mirror plate etched with an urn of flowers, and this is supported by foliate scrolls and mirrored spandrels, which are engraved with bunches of grapes. The foliate scrollwork continues around the frame and this encloses eight exquisite marginal plates, each engraved with a slightly different subject, some with a musical theme. The corners are embellished with ruby glass behind an acanthus leaf, and this surrounds the original mercury plate. A very fine and rare mirror.

Italian, c.1790.

View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables

	Width	Height	Depth
	48" 122 cms	74" 188 cms

Stock: 6627

It is hard to overstate the importance of this chimneypiece. Carved in a fine-grained limestone around 1750 by the most successful architect of 18th century Britain, it is a rare relic of a body of work that has otherwise been lost to time. The research undertaken suggests this grand chimneypiece was once in the dining room of 36 Lincoln’s Inn, one of two grand houses designed by the architect on this street. This building was demolished in 1859, whilst number 35 was lost in the blitz.

The design of this chimneypiece would have perfectly suited a dining room, impressive in scale, with Bacchus at the centre and grapevines carved in high relief along the frieze and jambs. In the Survey of London in 1912 there is a record for a remarkably similar stone chimneypiece of this style in the basement of 35 Lincoln’s Inn, having been moved from the principal room when the building was reconfigured for office use. As the properties were designed as a pair, it is conceivable, and indeed extremely likely that these chimneypieces were too.

Few recognise the name of this great architect despite the fame and wealth he enjoyed during his lifetime - which surpassed that of his peers we so revere today - figures such as Robert Adam, Sir John Soane and William Kent. With the recent scholarship of architectural historians such as Marcus Binney and Christopher Hussey, Robert Taylor and his work has come into focus once more.

Robert Taylor came to architecture from sculpture. This is evident in his work which was so full of life, and a departure from the stark Palladianism which had gripped Britain in the decades before him. An apprentice of Henry Cheere, who held positions such as the Sculptor of Oxford University and Carver for Westminster Abbey during his long career, his understanding of the Rococo would have been learnt from his master, who had embraced the lightness of the style in a number of funerary monuments and indeed chimneypieces commissioned across England.

Taylor was born into his career, as his father was a stonemason who sponsored his son from a young age. His father funded his apprenticeship to Cheere, and also a trip to Rome, but sadly died soon after, forcing his son to return to London, penniless and seeking a career in stone carving. He did just that, and flourished within not only monumental masonry, but as an architect, working on projects such as the Bank of England and stately homes; he was also appointed architect of the King’s Works in 1769. His style developed from his sculpture into architecture, where he introduced a light, organic quality that he had learnt from Cheere during his education in stone.

The English Rococo style was merely a fleeting moment in Georgian England, perhaps due to the great marketing prowess of the Adam Brothers, who built and filled homes of varying status with their interpretation of neo-classicism. This popular new style proliferated through their design treatise, entitled, ‘Works in Architecture’, published over three volumes, cementing the brothers as the tastemakers of Georgian Britain. Taylor published no such volume, and instead sought commissions that were financially rewarding. This was starkly opposed to the Adam brother’s enthusiasm for grand redevelopment projects and large bank loans, which would ultimately lead to their demise.

Ultimately, Taylor’s practice was so successful that on his death, he left an estate of £180,000 — in contrast, William Kent left £10,000, James Gibbs £25,000, and Christopher Wren £50,000. Sadly, much of his architectural output is now lost, destroyed as a result of WWII bombings, demolition and redevelopment. As a result, his name faded into relative obscurity in the years following his death, and his legacy and reputation has only come to light in recent years.

If you wish to read more about this spectacular chimneypiece and its designer, please send us an email and we would be delighted to send you the relevant publication.

View our section showing full range of neo-classical chimneypieces

	Width	Height	Depth
External	88 5⁄8" 225 cms	67 11⁄16" 172 cms	11 13⁄16" 30 cms
Internal	61 5⁄8" 156.5 cms	50" 127 cms

Stock: 16641

A rare Scottish pine and composition chimneypiece by Richard Foster of Edinburgh. The chimneypiece was designed is profusely decorated in exquisite detail whilst maintaining the elegant restraint of a neoclassical chimneypiece. The reverse breakfront shelf with acanthine moulding rests above an undershelf studded with bellflowers which in turn is supported by tall endblocks, each decorated with an anchor on the sea bed. The coastal theme is echoed again on the extraordinary tablet, a celebration of the Scottish coast; profusely decorated with seaweeds and shells, all in high relief. The flutes on the frieze are studded with little pinecones, just an exquisite detail. The frieze is supported by three-quarter columned jambs, with acanthine capitals. Scottish, c.1805.

Notes: Chimneypieces of this manufacture were a speciality of Richard Foster of Edinburgh and his son and examples survive not only in Scotland but also in the United States and Canada, where he seemed to create a strong market for them in the late 18th century. Richard Foster was born in Canonbie, the Scottish Borders, in 1755. At the age of fourteen, he was recorded as having a bank account in London, presumably as he was serving as an apprentice there, perhaps to the Adam Brothers as they too were in London at this time. In 1785 he returned to Edinburgh, working as a "joiner" and married to the daughter of a wealthy leather merchant. His chimneypieces were sold not only in Scotland, but in the USA, a bold move only a few years after American Independence was declared! This is perhaps why he avoided becoming a prominent figure in Scottish social and intellectual circles, as selling to Britain's former colonies would have been regarded as treachery in many cases. The pine and composition chimneypiece he perfected made the rational principles and beauty of classicism affordable to the growing mercantile and professional class emerging in the 18th century. These clients wished to express their cultural understanding through objects that conveyed the principles they admired, the chimneypiece was one such highly prized object. The Adam brothers (Robert and James) were well known for promoting their designs to the masses, and it is the pine and composition chimneypiece they made for the emerging middle class in Edinburgh that have become synonymous with the "Adam Style". However, Foster was a true master of the technique, and his designs are some of the most delicate and finely manufactured ever made. In the 1770s, the technique of applying a cast composition onto pine really took off in Scotland, especially with the construction of many new houses, such as those in Edinburgh's New Town. The process of cast composition can be described as essentially a thermo plastic mix of chalk, glue size, and other additives heated up to a precise temperature then pressed into wood or brimstone moulds. These could then be applied to a simple pine surround and painted if desired. Foster was commissioned to make designs unique to clients, so there may only be a single example of a particular design, but these usually incorporate existing decorative motifs.

View our section showing full range of neo-classical chimneypieces

	Width	Height	Depth
External	70 1⁄8" 178 cms	59 3⁄8" 151 cms	7 7⁄8" 20 cms
Internal	50 5⁄8" 128.6 cms	45" 114.3 cms

Stock: 16130

Psyche Abandoned

A rare Italian sculpture depicting Psyche, attributed to the Italian sculptor, Pietro Tenerani.

Pietro Tenerani (1798-1869) was a sculptor perhaps best known for his neoclassical works of the early nineteenth-century. He trained under Lorenzo Bartolini at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Carrara and with his uncle Pietro Marchetti, where he learnt how to polish and finish marble. After his early training, he won a scholarship to Rome in 1815, where he entered the studio of Bertel Thorvaldsen, considered one of the great masters of the age. He worked together with Thorvaldsen on several illustrious commissions, and soon set up his own studio. Among Tenerani’s illustrious patrons were William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, Queen Victoria, and Pope Pius IX.

In 1816, Tenerani produced his first model of Psyche Abandoned under his own name, a beautifully finished work in plaster. This work transcended the more rigidly neoclassical style of the period, and instead bore the naturalism of an earlier age. It was soon acquired by the noblewoman and patron of the arts Marchesa Carlotta de’ Medici Lenzoni for her private collection. The sculpture was subsequently entered into an exhibition at the Palazzo Caffarelli in Rome, where many collectors admired and praised it for its naturalism and beauty. As a result of the exhibition, some admirers of this work requested copies to be made. It is likely that our own copy of this first work was made shortly after the exhibition; it wasn’t uncommon for a much-admired work to have copies made in both plaster and in marble. Many collectors even favoured the plaster originals, understanding that in many cases the marble versions were carved by workshop assistants rather than the master. It was Antonio Canova who popularised the practice of creating a finished work in plaster, giving the work of the marble carving to his assistants. Canova would then step in at the final stages of carving, to add his own hand to the finer details.

Tenerani’s depiction of the young Psyche captured the imagination of Italian society, but the myth of the young princess and her lover had been enjoyed since antiquity. Their story is one of the interplay between the Soul and Desire. Psyche is the personification of the soul and conveys its vulnerability when met with the tempestuous and transient nature of desire, here embodied by the deity Cupid. If Psyche and Cupid’s story concerns the soul and desire, then their ultimate union should be considered one of fate. Their story is told by Apuleius in his Metamorphoses, written in the 2nd century AD and broadly follows this narrative: Cupid’s mother, the Goddess of love Aphrodite, was driven into a fury when she discovered that her worshippers were neglecting her and instead making offerings to a young and beautiful princess, Psyche. In her rage, Aphrodite demanded that her son Cupid make Psyche fall in love with an unworthy man as a punishment for her beauty. However, Cupid is scratched by his own arrow and falls in love with Psyche himself.

They marry, yet Cupid tells his bride to never look at him, lest she be injured if she settled her gaze on a God. She complies until one evening she can no longer resist temptation, and she casts a light over her sleeping beloved with a lamp. He wakes, and in his fury at her betrayal, flees. Psyche is inconsolable and approaches the God’s mother Aphrodite and appeals to her to reunite them. She is set a series of impossible tasks by the Goddess, and when she fails the final task, at Cupid’s request the other Gods take mercy on her granting her immortality so the lovers can be reunited.

Apuleius’ story is a lesson about finding balance between matters of the body and spirit, to live in harmony. Cupid and Psyche were represented not only in this tale, but in much earlier Hellenistic Art too, which makes Tenerani the perfect master for this work.

His sculpture captures the moment in which Psyche’s beloved departs in a rage, leaving her alone. She sits on a rock, her youth emphasised in the modelling of her body and face. Her face in downcast, and her anguish is sensed not only in her expression but also in her posture. In this sculpture, Tenerani has captured the essence of the Hellenistic sculpture that he so revered at this stage of his career. Archaeological excavations in Rome had revealed ancient copies of sculptures from Greece and set the standard to which to aspire.

The drapery over her legs is reminiscent of Hellenistic sculpture insofar as it has weight to it, a quality that the eighteenth-century scholar Johann Winckelmann described as a “wet look”. Carving and modelling of this quality is indicative of a master, and this detail allowed the Tenerani to showcase his skill as a sculpture independent from his master.

In this version of the sculpture, Psyche is depicted without wings. It wasn’t unusual to find Psyche represented this way, as sculptures of this quality were commissioned by or intended for an audience who would find the subject immediately recognisable. Pietro Tenerani’s first sculpture of Psyche dated to 1817 does shows her with wings and is also modelled in plaster. Both sculptures are the same size and possess an almost identical finish, where the top layer of the plaster has been toned to give it a patina and both also display a very fine level of finish, so this work is to be regarded as a finished sculpture rather than mere modello. It is perhaps most interesting to consider how the composition developed over time in the hands of its master.

Tenerani’s Psyche Abandoned is considered one of the most revered sculptures of the nineteenth-century, so we are honoured to have such a fine version in our collection.

	Width	Height	Depth
	21 1⁄4" 54 cms	44 7⁄8" 114 cms	20 1⁄2" 52 cms

Stock: 16687

A rare 17th century crewelwork wall hanging of superb quality. This panel is meticulously hand embroidered in worsted 'crewl' wool with the 'tree of life' decoration, which was enormously popular in this period.

This hanging still has its original backing, which has been professionally conserved, lined, and fitted with a hanging rod. It is likely that it once part of a set of bed hangings.

A brief history of crewel work:

The Bayeaux Tapestry is the earliest extant example of this embroidery technique, which was at the time of its manufacture - the 11th century - peculiar to Britain. The scene spans over 230 feet in length and was intended to be viewed as a continuous narrative. It is certainly one of the grandest works of embroidery of the medieval period.
However, it was centuries later that crewelwork gained great popularity in the domestic sphere, popularised by Elizabeth I, who was a great patron of the arts. It was also under her rule that the British East India Company was founded in 1600, and it saw the arrival of colourful palampores and chintzes from India, which hugely influenced the designs for crewelwork, with stylised leaves and exotic flowers being used more frequently after this period.

In the Jacobean period, this passion for crewelwork of this style was evident in almost every affluent home, where panels were used as bed hangings, curtains and door drapes.

The popularity for crewelwork endured until the early 19th century, when machine made embroideries emerged.

	Width	Height	Depth
	59 13⁄16" 152 cms	80 1⁄4" 204 cms	0 3⁄8" 1 cms

Stock: 16697

An exceptional giltwood Venetian wall mirror. The fine frame has strapwork cresting, pierced sides and apron, the whole carved with rocaille, c-scrolls and floral flourishes, enclosing the mirror plate, which is surmounted by a fine cartouche also with mirror plate to the crest.

Venice, c.1780.

View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables

	Width	Height	Depth
	47 5⁄8" 121 cms	65 3⁄8" 166 cms	2 3⁄8" 6 cms

Stock: 6622

A rare fireplace insert by Thomas Jeckyll for Barnard Bishop and Barnard. Epitomising the Aesthetic movement style, the insert is mounted with a cast brass panel decorated with Jeckyll's signature use of Japanese mons, but the most striking decoration is of course the handpainted tiles on a burnt orange ground, decorated with birds of paradise perching on stylised branches. A rare survival of extraordinary beauty.

English, circa 1870. Notes: Barnard, Bishop and Barnards were at the heart of Norwich's iron industry, and the company gained an international reputation after their collaboration with Thomas Jeckyll. Jeckyll’s associations with a group of London artists – notably James Abbott McNeill Whistler – made him a key figure in the Anglo-Japanese Aesthetic Movement. Jeckyll used japonaise designs for Barnards’ fireplaces while his sunflower motif came to symbolise the Aesthetic Movement.

View our collection of: Antique Fire grates and Register grates.

	Width	Height	Depth
External	38" 96.5 cms	38" 96.5 cms	8" 20.3 cms
Internal	18 3⁄8" 46.7 cms	28 1⁄2" 72.5 cms

Stock: 16556

A rare pair of large cast iron Handyside urns after the the Medici Vase. These urns were manufactured by the renowned Andrew Handyside & Co Foundry, and as illustrated in the catalogue, are a near pair, with a different subject to the bas-relief friezes. The right is a faithful copy to the original Medici Vase, now on display at the Uffizi in Florence. Both are mounted on their original pedestals.

English, c.1851.

Notes: The Handyside Foundry exhibited this model at the Great Exhibition of 1851, as it was, and still remains, one of the most popular subjects from antiquity.

Having returned from his uncle's engineering business in Russia, the young engineer Andrew Handyside took over the Britannia iron works in Derby in 1848, a foundry that was known for the quality of its casting, owing to the fine sand that could be found in the region. He made a wide range of materials in cast iron, from garden ornaments, to iron buildings and bridges.

View our collection of: decorative antiques and furnishings

	Width	Height	Depth
Urn & Base	23 5⁄8" 60 cms	54 1⁄4" 138 cms	23 5⁄8" 60 cms
Base	19 1⁄4" 49 cms	24" 61 cms

Stock: 16138

A fine and rare set of Grand Tour plaster intaglios, individually mounted on dark green silk within their original mahogany and crossbanded satinwood case, which is fashioned as a false book. When the spine of the book is removed, the interior is revealed. Traces of marbled paper remain around three sides of the case, imitating the marbled finishes often seen on 18th century books. Some of the Intaglios have the impressed stamp for Nathaniel Marchant, who was the most well regarded gem engraver of the 18th century.
Sets such as these are very rare.

View our collection of: decorative antiques and furnishings.

	Width	Lenght
	9 13⁄16" 25 cms	15 3⁄8" 39 cms

Stock: 16485

A very fine George III wall mirror, with a delicate giltwood frame embodying the lightness of the Chippendale style, with slender c scrolls, trailing foliage and an elegant crest. The frame encloses a very foxed mercury plate.

English, c.1760.

View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables

	Width	Height	Depth
External	28" 71 cms	46 1⁄2" 118 cms	2 3⁄8" 6 cms

Stock: 16297

A very large and fine 32 branch gilt brass chandelier hung with enormous faceted pear shaped glass drops. This grand chandelier is truly a statement piece, with two tiers of scrolling foliate arms emanating from a foliate baluster stem, strung with glass beads and drops. A statement chandelier of exceptional quality.
French, c.1890.

View our collection of: Antique chandeliers.

	Diameter	Drop
	48" 122 cms	52" 132 cms

Stock: 16228

A grand and monumental early Victorian trumeau chimneypiece in the Renaissance Revival style. The blockwork trumeau is centred by an armorial and rests on a large freize carved with floral spandrels in the Tudor Revival style, over cantilevered, moulded jambs. A fine fireplace best suited to a grand interior.

English, c.1860.

Provenance: Hinton Old Hall, Shropshire.

View our collection of: Antique Renaissance, Gothic Tudor Fireplace mantels and Chimneypieces: 1260 - 1600

	width	height	depth
External, inc. hearth	68 1⁄2" 174 cms	86" 218.5 cms	11 1⁄2" 29.3 cms
Internal	48" 122 cms	35 3⁄16" 89.5 cms

Stock: 16342

An exceptional giltwood Venetian wall mirror. The fine frame has strapwork cresting, pierced sides and apron, the whole carved with rocaille, c-scrolls and floral flourishes, enclosing the original mercury glass mirror plate, which is surmounted by an etched cartouche plate to the crest, decorated with a woman playing a lyre with a pastoral scene.

Venice, c.1780.

View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables

	width	height	depth
	48 3⁄8" 123 cms	63 13⁄16" 162 cms	2 3⁄8" 6 cms
Crest depth	6 1⁄2" 16.5 cms

Stock: 16337

An exceptional Gothic Revival stone chimneypiece from Woodchester Mansion. Carved from soft buff coloured Bath stone, this chimneypiece is a celebration of nature, with a floral undershelf beautifully carved in high relief. This rests on a frieze carved with five foliate panels. One panel is carved with a vine, the other a flowering lily, the central panel depicts two birds devouring grapes from a vine, the next, a British oak laden with acorns, and the final panel, a fruiting ivy.
This beautiful carving is surpassed only on the spandrels, where on one side it is carved with a grapevine, and on the other a serpent is shown within a fruiting tree, evoking the story of Eve. The jambs are deftly carved with floral paterae and grapevines over moulded footblocks.

This piece is an extraordinary survival from the unfinished Woodchester Mansion in Gloucestershire. By repute it was designed and made for the mansion but was never installed as the building project was left unfinished. AWN Pugin drew up early plans for this house, but the project was later taken on by Benjamin Bucknall. It is uncertain whether this chimneypiece was designed by Pugin, or was in fact designed by Bucknall, but it does share many stylistic similarities to the stonework throughout the rest of the house. Sadly after the patron of the project died, his Gothic vision was never realised in full.

English, c.1860

Provenance: Woodchester Mansion, Gloucestershire.

View our collection of: Antique Renaissance, Gothic Tudor Fireplace mantels and Chimneypieces: 1260 - 1600

	Width	Height	Depth
External	55 3⁄8" 140.7 cms	58 11⁄16" 149 cms	8" 20.3 cms
Internal	33 11⁄16" 85.5 cms	40 5⁄8" 103 cms

Stock: 16344

A fine and rare pair of 18th century George III wall mirrors with original mercury plates. Each plate is bordered by a giltwood frame of foliate design woven with c and s scrolls, very much in the Chippendale manner.

It is very rare to come across such a fine pair of mirrors of this date.
English, c.1760.

View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables

	Width	Height
	26 13⁄16" 68 cms	49 5⁄8" 126 cms

Stock: 16294

A fine mid-eighteenth century Venetian giltwood wall mirror. The elegant mirror is profusely decorated with foliate c scrolls in the Rococo manner, with floral flourishes and an elegant finial above an additional mirror plate. With original mercury plates.

Northern Italian, c.1760.

View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables

	Width	Height	Depth
	36 13⁄16" 93.5 cms	55 1⁄8" 140 cms	9 1⁄4" 23.5 cms

Stock: 16230

A fine antique cut glass and gilt brass chandelier of exceptional quality of a tent and waterfall design, profusely hung with beads and prism drops, issuing eight scrolling foliate gilt brass arms.
English, mid-19th century.

View our collection of: Antique chandeliers.

	Diameter	Drop
	33 1⁄8" 84 cms	46 1⁄8" 117 cms

Stock: 16013

A fine pair of 19th century and later ormolu wall sconces, each modelled as an Atlas figure stood upon a curved bracket with acanthus support, supporting a plain globe mounted with three scrolling branches with beaded sockets above foliate drip pans.

French, c.1890 with later modification to light fittings.

View our collection of: Antique Wall Lights

	Width	Height	Depth
	13" 33 cms	24 3⁄8" 62 cms	9 1⁄8" 23 cms

Stock: 15960

A pair of Aesthetic Movement andirons attributed to Thomas Jekyll and possibly made by Barnard, Bishop and Barnards. Although unmarked, they possess the qualities of Jekyll's designs, with his signature use of Japanese mons within the decoration on the shafts. The rosettes symbolise night and day and with beautiful repoussé work a Kingfisher on a branch represents Day, or dawn, with the sun rising behind him, whilst the owl represents Night and is surrounded by stars.
English, c.1875.

Notes: Barnard, Bishop and Barnards were at the heart of Norwich's iron industry, and the company gained an international reputation after their collaboration with Thomas Jekyll.
Jeckyll’s associations with a group of London artists – notably James Abbott McNeill Whistler – made him a key figure in the Anglo-Japanese Aesthetic Movement. Jeckyll used japonaise designs for Barnards’ fireplaces while his sunflower motif came to symbolise the Aesthetic Movement.

	Width	Height	Depth
	7" 17.7 cms	19 11⁄16" 50 cms	9 1⁄8" 23 cms

Stock: 15572

A fine and large nineteenth-century Gothic Revival oak bracket clock, with a silvered dial.

The clock has an eight day, triple fusee, four pillar movement with anchor escapement and chimes the quarters on either eight or four bells, "Westminster chimes" and strikes the hours on a single gong.
The finely engraved silvered arched top brass dial with Roman numerals has three subsidiary dials, namely; strike or silent, slow or fast, Westminster chime, or chime on 8 bells. Engraved spandrels frame the chapter ring. The case is the perfect incarnation of the Gothic Revival, the cathedral case topped with spires and finials which are supported by cluster pilasters whilst the dial is framed with a foliate ogee window.
English, circa 1850.

View our collection of: Antique clocks and clock garniture

	Width	Height	Depth
	16 1⁄2" 42 cms	26" 66 cms	9 3⁄8" 24 cms

Stock: 15737

A German Neo-Gothic oak armchair attributed to Edwin Oppler (1831-1880). The chair bears the inscription 'Ernst is das leben, heiter die kunst', or 'Life is Serious, Art is Cheerful' on wonderfully carved banners unfurling amongst Gothic tracery. The motto is taken from Friedrich Schiller's Wallenstein Trilogy of 1800. The chair is beautifully carved and the letter G is inscribed within a shield on the top rail. It has been suggested that this is to indicate George V, son of Ernst August the last King of Hanover.

German, c.1850. Later upholstery.

Edwin Oppler was a well-regarded German Jewish Architect, and a proponent of the Neo-Gothic style. He came to know the Gothic style when he worked on the restoration of Notre Dame in Paris. His style then evolved to encompass what had so inspired him in this great Gothic masterpiece. His connection with George V arose when he took over the project of Schloss Marienburg from Conrad Wilhelm Hase in 1864, where he also designs furniture that shares many characteristics with this chair.
In his career, he went on to design many synagogues, all of which were tragically destroyed during Kristallnacht.

View our collection of: Antique furniture

	Width	Height	Depth
	23" 58.5 cms	38 5⁄8" 98 cms	22" 56 cms

Stock: 15643

A Reflection of American History -

An ornate convex mirror of grand proportions topped with an eagle on a rocky summit.
Interestingly the mirror, thought to be of American origins, is decorated with 24 spheres around the frame, whilst another sphere hangs on a chain suspended from the mouth of the eagle. This possibly symbolises the 24 established states of the USA, with the state of Arkansas represented by a ball hanging from the mouth of the eagle, the country's emblem. This shows that Arkansas joining the USA is quite literally hanging in the balance.
With this information, we can date the mirror to 1835-1836.

American, 1836. Awaiting restoration, included in the price.

View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables

	Width	Height
	23 5⁄8" 60 cms	42 7⁄8" 109 cms

Stock: 15724

A large and finely carved 19th century Italian marble lidded urn, decorated with trailing grape vines and and dramatic handles, modelled as grinning and horned satyrs. The body of the urn is carved with two cartouches, one depicting a nymph bathing in a pool whilst a satyr observes, hidden by bullrushes. The other depicts an a satyr and a goat in an amorous and playful embrace. After the antique.

Italian, c.1850.

Could be situated in a sheltered spot in a garden or courtyard, but equally suited to an interior setting.

View our collection of: decorative antiques and furnishings

	Width	Height	Depth
	28" 71 cms	40" 101.5 cms	19 11⁄16" 50 cms

Stock: 15555

A pair of late Victorian display cabinets, ebonised and chequer inlaid with amboyna and purplewood, in the Aesthetic Movement style. Each cabinet has running gilt brass mounts, a baluster gallery above a pair of glazed doors enclosing two adjustable shelves, over a bevelled mirror inset back panel and ring turned front columns, with a chevron inlaid frieze below, above a pair of glazed doors enclosing two shelves each.

Provenance:
By family repute the cabinets were made by the great grandfather of the previous owner. His surname was Savigear and evidently he executed them whilst he was working for the Soho based cabinet making firm of Frauer and Sons, most likely during the 1890s. Frederick Frauer appears listed as a cabinet maker located on 46 Greek Street, Soho, in the Dictionary of British and Irish Furniture Makers, 1500-1914.

View our collection of: Antique furniture

	Width	Height	Depth
	36 3⁄16" 92 cms	88 3⁄16" 224 cms	15 3⁄8" 39 cms

Stock: 15588

A pair of small antique giltwood wall brackets in the Rococo taste, with a serpentine shelf resting on scrolling acanthus leaves. Perfect as a candle bracket or for small ornaments. Italian, c.1890.

View our collection of: decorative antiques and furnishings

	Width	Height	Depth
External	5 11⁄16" 14.5 cms	6 1⁄8" 15.5 cms	3 1⁄4" 8.5 cms

Stock: 15615

A fine George III chimneypiece in Statuary and Siena marble. The inverted breakfront shelf sits above a boldly carved egg and dart undershelf, resting over the faux fluted frieze inlaid with fine Siena Marble and studded with two oval paterae.
The central rectangular tablet depicts three putti, one possibly Cupid as he holds a bow, the others grapple with a quiver of arrows. This scene is situated within ribbon tied drapery. The endblocks are also carved with putti, one holding a set of cymbal like instruments aloft and the other holding an unfurling scroll.
Supporting the endblocks are the three-quarter columns also inlaid with Siena marble and topped by elegant composite ionic capitals and resting on socle and block plinth bases.

English, c.1770. With restorations.

View our section showing full range of neo-classical chimneypieces

	Width	Height	Depth
External	74" 188 cms	62 5⁄8" 159 cms	13" 33 cms
Internal	46 7⁄8" 119 cms	39" 99 cms

Stock: 15433

A superb Victorian walnut and solid ebony Gothic library table. This outstanding table is made especially rare by having solid ebony legs, stretcher and finials. The beautifully carved Solomonic legs and stretcher support a fine burr walnut top.

This table is incredibly diverse, and can be used as a centre table, or even a desk.
English, circa 1860.

Link to: Antique furniture

	Width	Height	Depth
	54 1⁄4" 138 cms	29 1⁄2" 75 cms	33 1⁄2" 85 cms

Stock: 14738

A rare and monumental cast iron Coalbrookdale antique fire grate identical to fire grate SNo 14374. The elaborately scrolled backplate featues a Bagot Goat jumping a fence. The substantial basket, with a strapwork apron centred by a lion mask, is supported by a pair of large and powerful panther head standards.

Provenance: The registration mark 65 The Coalbrookdale Company registered September 6th 1841 number 814 can clearly be seen on the back.
English, early to mid 19th century.

Notes: The Bagot goat is believed to be Britain's oldest breed of goat and has lived semi-wild at Blithfield Hall in Staffordshire for over six hundred years.The Coalbrookdale Company, a foundry in Shropshire established in 1709, is probably most famous for building the world's first cast iron bridge erected and opened at Ironbridge in 1780, but it was also noted for its decorative ironwork an example of which is a set of gates opening into London's Hyde Park. The blast furnaces were closed down around 1820 but the foundries remained in use.

Please note that the back plate was once broken the damage can be seen under the goat. It has been strapped on the back, so the grate is still functional.

Link to: Antique fire grates and log baskets.

	width	height	depth
	34 5⁄8" 88 cms	29 1⁄4" 74.5 cms	16 1⁄8" 41 cms

Stock: 15456

A very fine mahogany longcase clock, with an eight day movement by John Wyld of Nottingham. The fine silver dial is centred by a painted scene of a wooded landscape and this frames a date aperture. The lunette above is adorned with not only a painted moondial, but with opposing hemispheres. The dial is framed by very fine brass cherub spandrels, and mounted with three pierced hands.
The hood of the clock has a swan necked pediment with trompe l'oeil marquetry and a brass finial, which is echoes in the pair of fluted corinthian columns with brass capitals.

Inside the figured case is a four pillar movement which will be fully serviced on purchase.

Notes on the maker: John Wyld was an important and very competent maker who was born in Codnor, Derbyshire in 1710, son of another John Wyld (1678-1760) by Rebecca, sister of the notable Codnor clockmaker James Woolley (1695-1785), to whom Wyld was apprenticed. He set up at Codnor around 1732 and also rented a workshop in Chapel Bar in Nottingham from a Mr. Lupton shortly afterwards. He married in 1740 and died in 1773 leaving John, his successor at Nottingham, Joseph and three daughters.

Link to: Antique clocks and clock garniture

	width	height	depth
	21 11⁄16" 55 cms	96 7⁄8" 246 cms	10 5⁄8" 27 cms

Stock: 15436

A very fine and rare George III bronze register grate finely engraved with neoclassical motifs. Beneath the three barred serpentine grate is an elegant engraved apron of the same serpentine form.
Irish, circa 1780.

Link to: Antique Fire grates and Register grates.

	Width	Height	Depth
Front	42 1⁄2" 108 cms	42 1⁄8" 107 cms	13 3⁄16" 33.5 cms
Back	35 13⁄16" 91 cms	39 3⁄16" 99.5 cms

Stock: 10719

A Renaissance stone door casement, carved in dark grey Pietra Serena stone. The elegant overdoor takes the form of a concave scallop shell, a motif derived from Roman sarcophagi, which later became a Christian symbol of rebirth, resurrection and pilgrimage. This suggests that the doorway was perhaps an entrance to a place of worship. Beneath this, stylised dolphins are carved nose to tail, undulating across the now weathered surface, worn after centuries of exposure to the elements. Supporting this are carved capitals and jambs decorated with urns and foliate details.

Northern/Central Italian, possibly Florentine. A very similar door is on display in the Victorian and Albert Museum's Renaissance Gallery.

Restoration not possible.

Link to: Antique Doors and Windows.

	width	height	depth
	73 5⁄8" 187 cms	150 13⁄16" 383 cms	13 13⁄16" 35 cms
	41 11⁄16" 106 cms	86 13⁄16" 220.5 cms

Stock: 6593

The Dalquharran Castle Chimneypiece.

A very rare, gently concave Portland Stone fireplace designed by Robert Adam and carved by the renowned Dutch stonemason Pieter Mathias van Gelder.

A moulded shelf rests above a simple frieze centred by a panel carved in relief with a floor standing globe flanked by opposing sphinxes. The endblocks, with carved lyres and husk swags, sit above fern frond corbels terminating in festooned bucrane on fielded panel jambs raised on stepped footblocks.
English, circa 1790.

Dalquharran Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland, is regarded as one of the finest examples of Robert Adam’s Castle Style. His castles were unique in the respect that whilst the outside embodied the robustness associated with a castle, the inside was the embodiment of his restrained and delicate classical style. Dalquharran Castle was created for Thomas Kennedy of Dunure but is sadly now a ruin after the roof was removed in 1967 to avoid paying rates.

The chimneypiece was originally installed in the round tower library of the Castle and epitomised Adam's classical elegance. The last image below shows it in situ in the ruins of the library. It is exceptionally rare to find such a piece and made even more remarkable as it survived virtually undamaged. There is a similarly fine chimneypiece at Seton Castle, Adam’s final project in Scotland.

Link to a section showing full range of similar/related neo-classical chimneypieces

	Width	Height	Depth
External	78" 198.2 cms	58 13⁄16" 149.3 cms	12 5⁄8" 32 cms
Internal	47 13⁄16" 121.5 cms	42 1⁄2" 108 cms