Museum Acquisitions
The ‘Dunecht House Chairs’, a pair of Dutch marquetry side chairs, were acquired from Freshfords by Leighton House and Sambourne House, London, where they are now part of the museum collection and on public display.
The chairs are crafted in walnut with ivory and fruitwood marquetry, each featuring a foliate Rocaille carved top rail above a vase shaped splat. The shaped seat rails retain their drop in seats and are raised on shell carved cabriole front legs terminating in ball and claw feet. Each chair also retains the original inventory label for Dunecht House.
Dunecht House, Aberdeenshire, was purchased in 1909 by Sir Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, for his wife, Lady Annie Pearson, Viscountess Cowdray. From 1919 it became the family’s principal Scottish residence, where Lady Cowdray furnished the house with furniture and works of art to complement the interiors of both Dunecht House and Cowdray Park. These chairs formed part of that collection before eventually being acquired by Leighton House and Sambourne House.
Mahogany and Purpleheart Bookcase Attributed to Gillows
A late George III 18th century two door mahogany and purpleheart inlaid bookcase attributed to Gillows of London and Lancaster was recently bought from us by the Art Department of The Royal Castle in Warsaw Museum, Pl. Zamkowy 4, 00-277 Warsaw, Poland and it is now on display in their collection there.
The moulded cornice sits above a vertical flamed mahogany veneer crossbanded with boxwood stringing and purpleheart. The same crossbanding is above the vertical veneers.
The astragal glazed doors open to reveal the original three solid oak and mahogany tipped shelves. These can be adjusted easily with the individual slats that have been fitted to the bookcase, all original to the time of manufacture. The astragal glazed design is seen in the Gillows sketches that we have illustrated with the stock item. The panes of glass are nearly all original, with the mahogany framed doors supporting broad purpleheart and boxwood strung glazing bars. They are deliberately wider to show off the purpleheart.
The bookcase sits on a figured inlaid mahogany shelf above two cupboard doors. The flamed mahogany inset panelled doors open to reveal a bank of oak-lined and mahogany front drawers. The drawers are fitted with the original gilt brass swan neck handles.
The bookcase is unusually veneered in figured mahogany to the sides and is raised on ogee feet, flanked and decorated with a shaped apron and crossbanded purpleheart veneers.
NB. The bookcase is low waisted and elegantly scaled in proportion. A very fine 18th Sheraton period century bookcase.
Gillows furniture was a byword for quality, and other designers used Gillows to manufacture their furniture. Gillows furniture is referred to by Jane Austen, Thackeray and the first Lord Lytton, as well as in one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operas.
The Gillow sketches included here relate to the current bookcase and the attribution of Gillow.
You can read more about the history of Gillows on our Gillows page.
