A half-length portrait by Cornelis Jonson (1593-1661) of Elisabeth Campion, from Danny Park, Sussex. Estimate: £40,000-60,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2013.
LONDON.- On 2 May, Christie’s sale East & West will offer works of art from two private collections - from Eaton Square & Anouska Hempel - both formed with passion, connoisseurship and a discerning eye for quality. Including items originating from China and the Indian subcontinent, through the Middle East, Russia, the Baltic states, Western Europe and to the Caribbean, the extensive range of ages, geographical origins and media presented over 347 lots will delight collectors and decorators around the world. In total, the sale is expected to realise in excess of £2.5 million.
A Private Collection from Eaton Square (Lots 1 – 265)
The interiors formed by this anonymous collector over a period of almost forty years in his Eaton Square residence comprise 264 lots including a diverse array of furniture, pictures and works of art, ceramics, furnishings and garden statuary. Acquired at some of the most famous and important country house sales of the late 1970s and 1980s - including North Mymms Park, Wateringbury Place, Reddish House and West Dean - provenance was paramount in the formation of this collection. Royal pieces include an ormolu-mounted mahogany armoire made for the Queen of Spain - Doña Maria Cristina de Borbón, wife of King Fernando VII - in 1830 (estimate: £30,000-50,000) and an important bureau plat by Bernard II van Risenburgh (BVRB) which belonged to Louis XV’s mistress Madame de Pompadour (estimate: £70,000-100,000). Among the many curiosities is a pair of tole peinte, opaque glass and giltwood pineapple jardinière ornaments, circa 1950, which belonged to the photographer Henry Clarke, Cecil Beaton’s younger contemporary (estimate: £20,000 – 30,000).
A Spanish Ferdinando VII ormolu-mounted mahogany inverted breakfront armoire by Francesco Lopez De La Llare, circa 1830. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2013.
The projecting cornice carved with acanthus and egg-and-dart, above panelled doors with beaded and stiff-leaf borders, centred by stylised foliate S-shaped escutcheons and flanked by columns, the interior fitted with drawers, on a moulded plinth base, the original key with a gilded coronet marked with 'MC' and futher inscribed 'MADRID AÑO 1830 FC. LOPEZ DE LA LLARE'; 87 in. (221 cm.) high; 51¼ in. (130 cm.) wide; 27 in. (68.6 cm.) deep. Estimate: £30,000-50,000
Provenance: Supplied to the Queen of Spain, Doña Maria Cristina de Borbón, wife of King Fernando VII in 1830.
Thence by descent to her daughter, Queen Isabel II.
Presented by Queen Isabel II to General Caradoc, Lord Howden (d.1873), appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Spanish Court by Queen Victoria between 1850-1858, the Castillo de Caradoc, Bayona.
Acquired by Sr. Emanuel Bocher.
Inherited by the Marqés de Fuente Hermosa and sold by his wife in 1942.
Acquired in Paris in the 1950s and thence by descent.
Anonymous sale; Christie's London, 2 December 1997, lot 70.
Notes: This armoire was commissioned in Madrid in 1830 by the Queen of Spain, Doña Maria Cristina de Borbón, the wife of King Fernando VII. Inherited by her daughter, Queen Isabel II, it was subsequently presented by the latter to General Caradoc, Lord Howden, Queen Victoria's Envoy Extraordinary. Appointed Minister Plenipotentiary at the Spanish Court between 1850-1858, Lord Howden transferred the armoire to the Castillo de Caradoc in Saint-Esprit, Bayona, which he had built in 1857 on the ancient lands of the Merignac in the 'Edad Media', where the Orden de San Juan de Jerusalem had been founded in the 12th Century.
At the death of Lord Howden in 1873, the Castillo and its contents were acquired by Sr. Emmanuel Bocher, who bequeathed them in turn to the Marqés de Fuente Hermosa. It was his wife who sold the armoire in 1942.
A Royal Louis XV ormolu-mounted tulipwood, marquetry and parquetry table àécrire by Bernard II Van Risen Burgh, called BVRB, circa 1750. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2013.
The serpentine top inlaid with end-cut or bois-de-bôut marquetry flowers, above a shaped frieze fitted with a gilt-tooled green leather- lined slide and drawer to either end, on cabriole legs and stylised hoof sabots, stamped BVRB twice and JME four times, branded three times with the mark of the Château de Bellevue, inscribed three times Du No. 40 and once '2734', branded EHB, possibly previously with mount to the edge of the top (see below), the handles probably original, the angle mounts Régence and conceivably original (see below); 27¼ in. (69.5 cm.) high; 38 in. (96.5 cm.) wide; 20¼ in. (51.5 cm.) deep. Estimate: £70,000-100,000
Provenance: Supplied to Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson d'Etiolles, marquise de Pompadour (1721-64) for the château de Bellevue.
Louis XV (1710-74), the château de Bellevue and then presumably by descent to Mesdames Adelïade and Victoire, the King's sisters, at the château de Bellevue, until the Revolution.
The Trustees of a Nobleman; sold Christie's London, 2 July 1981, lot 59.
Notes: Bernard II van Risenburgh (BVRB) (d. 1765), maître before 1730.
This elegant table àécrire is branded BV beneath a crown, the mark of the château de Bellevue. The château was built for Madame de Pompadour by Louis XV to the designs of A.-J. Gabriel, commencing in 1748. Finished by Lassurance, Bellevue was inaugurated by the favourite in the presence of the King and the court on 25 November 1750, although the interior decoration continued until 1752. The Royal scale of the furnishing of this and her other residences is revealed in the pages of the Livre-Journal of Lazare Duvaux, themarchand-mercier through whom Madame de Pompadour made most of her purchases and from whom, in all probablility, she purchased this table. The copious entries of the Livre-Journal (ed. Louis Courajod, Paris, 1873) in Madame de Pompadour's name (upwards of 350 between 1748 and 1762) are generally too brief to allow positive identification, though the variety and luxury of Duvaux's supplies to the favourite - commodes and tables of lacquer and marquetry, enormous quantities of Vincennes, porcelaine de Saxe and lacquer, both mounted and unmounted, and a choice variety of bibelots, as well as the infinite attention given to the repair and maintenance of her possessions, give a vivid picture of her refined and civilised existence. Among these many entries, the only one of any substance which might correspond to this table is No. 650 (22 November 1750)...'Une table à ecrire de trois pieds de long plaquée en bois de rose avec des fleurs & ornemens dorées d'or moulu, les cornets en argents, 890 l.'
The table next appears in an inventory drawn up in 1763 for the King following his repurchase of Bellevue and its contents from Madame de Pompadour in 1757 (Archives Nationales 013317, folio 241 vo):
'No 40 Une Table a écrire de bois de Rose a fleurs de Bois violet a placcages, aïant par devant une tablette à coulisse couverte de velours vert encastré de même bois, et a chaque bout un tiroir fermant a clef doublé de moire verte encadrée d'un petit passepoil d'or faux. celue du côté droit garni d'Encrier, poudrier et Boëte a Eponge d'argent placés dans une Ecritoire ambulante de bois de roze. la Table ornée d'Entrées de serrures, quarts de ronds, encoignures et pieds de biche de bronze doré d'or moulu. longue de 2: pieds 11 pouces sur 18 pouces de large et 26 pouces de haut'.
The dimensions and description correspond so closely as to allow no doubt of its identification. As mentioned above, the mounts, or at least some of them, are conceived in the Régence style, apparently predating the manufacture of the table. The hoof feet, however, are clearly listed as pieds de bîche in the 1763 inventory. The asymmetric handles are typical of BVRB's mounts and these also appear to be original, although perhaps just slightly moved at a certain date. The pierced angle mounts, listed as 'encoignures' in the inventory, are less sculpturally cast and not as precisely chased as the other mounts and almost certainly date from the earlier 18th Century. There are some signs of other small plugged holes to the reverse, but these are not consistent on each leg and do not necessarily correspond to an earlier group of angle mounts. BVRB may have used an older mount made available to him, especially as the pieds de bîche continue the somewhat 'antiquarian' fashion on this piece. The quarts de ronds listed in the inventory probably either refer to a border framing the top or stringing to the edges of the legs which is visible on the Dutasta table, sold in Paris 3-4 June 1926, lot 144.
BVRB
This beautiful writing-table is an exceptionally elegant example of the early floral marquetry furniture of one of the greatest Parisian ébénistes of the 18th Century, Bernard II van Risen Burgh (after 1696- circa1766). This maker, whose work epitomises the early pittoresque Louis XV style and who used the stamp BVRB, developed such a personal style that there can rarely be any doubt regarding the attribution of his pieces.
The son of a cabinet-maker of Dutch origin, van Risen Burgh established his workshop independently of his father's in the Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, where he began to produce furniture distinguished principally by the extraordinary quality of its conception, construction and innovative ormolu mounts. Throughout his career, BVRB worked almost exclusively for the marchands-mercier and, unlike many of his contemporaries, he had almost no direct contact with his illustrious private clientele. In this respect, he is singularly a product of themarchand-mercier system. It was through the intervention of the well-known marchands for whom BVRB worked, therefore, particularly Thomas-Joachim Hébert and, subsequently from the 1750s Lazare Duvaux and Simon-Philippe Poirier, that his furniture was delivered to the principal patrons of the day - foremost among them being the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne.
BVRB is perhaps most celebrated not only for his employment of innovative materials in his furniture, particularly panels of Chinese and Japanese lacquer and Sèvres porcelain plaques, but additionally his masterful bois-de-boût floral marquetry. BVRB has been credited with reviving the fashion for floral marquetry decoration on furniture, a taste which had been out of favour since the Régence period. Indeed, the first deliveries of floral marquetry furniture to the Garde-Meuble were by the marchand-mercier Thomas-Joachim Hébert in 1745 for the Dauphin and the Dauphine at Versailles and these were almost entirely by BVRB, embellished with his characteristic bois-de-boût marquetry of end-cut floral trails in kingwood on abois satiné and, subsequently, on a tulipwood ground (D. Meyer, Le Mobilier de Versailles, vol. I, Dijon, 2002, no. 29, pp. 108-111). BVRB is also renowned for the extraordinary design, burnishing and chasing of his ormolu mounts, which are uniquely found among his oeuvre and do not recur, as was typically the case, on furniture by other makers. It is assumed, therefore, that he either designed and cast his own mounts - a rare practice in direct contravention of the strict guild regulations - or that they were reserved by the bronzier for his exclusive use.
On most of BVRB's pieces decorated in bois-de-boût marquetry, stylised foliate scrolls entirely cover all sides, only interrupted by framing scrolls in dark woods or mounts. On the present table, however, the foliate cartouche is framed by a geometric cube pattern, reminiscent of his work of the 1730s and early 1740s and this would suggest an early execution date in this new development, around 1750 or even slightly before. This is substantiated by some of the mounts, notably the pierced angle mounts but also the hoof feet, which have a decidedly Régence appearance. In the following years, BVRB executed numerous related writing-tables, embellished with bois-de-boût marquetry and of differing sizes, but only very few of this very large scale, which is wider and deeper than most of his tables àécrire, but smaller than his bureaux plats. One other example is known to exist, which was sold from the collection of Paul Dutasta, Paris, 3-4 June 1926, lot 144. This was almost certainly executed slighly later than the present example: the geometric pattern has been replaced by plain veneers framing the cartouche and the mounts have evolved into more small-scalepittoresque 'jewels'.
EDWARD HOLMES BALDOCK
This table bears the stamp of Edward Holmes Baldock or EHB. The English marchand-mercier Edward Holmes Baldock (d. 1845), 'Purveyor of China, Earthenware and Glass to William IV' (1832-7) and 'Purveyor of China to Queen Victoria' (1838-45), was both a retailer of 'antique' French furniture as well as a manufacturer of furniture and objets de luxe in the French taste. Established in Hanway Street, London, he often employed the brand 'EHB' and was responsible for the formation of many of the greatest early 19th century collections of French furniture in England, including those of George IV, the Dukes of Buccleuch and Northumberland, William Beckford and George Byng, MP.
A pair of French tole peinte, opaque glass and giltwood pineapple jardiniere ornaments, circa 1950. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2013.
Each simulated porphyry base on paw feet and mounted with ball finials, issuing serrated tole branches each supporting two orange-painted glass pineapples; 26¾ in. (68 cm.) high; 13¾ in. (35 cm.) wide (2). Estimate: £20,000 – 30,000)
Provenance: The Collection of Monsieur Henry Clarke; sold Christie's Monaco, 20 June 1998, lot 164.
Demonstrating how to recreate the essence of an English country house in Belgravia, or anywhere in the world, beautiful Chinese export reverse-painted mirror pictures - including an example dating to circa 1770 which retains its original mother-of-pearl inlaid zitan frame (estimate: £8,000-12,000) - were hung alongside Georgian mirrors such as a George II giltwood example circa 1755 (estimate: £40,000-60,000) and early George III walnut seat furniture attributed to William Vile, circa 1760 (estimate: £40,000-60,000). A collection of giant clam shells (with estimates starting at £400 up to £1,200, examples below centre) are offered alongside Venetian grotto furniture (with estimates starting at £2,000 up to £6,000) and an Anglo-Indian ivory-inlaid rosewood pedestal dining-table, circa 1820-30 (estimate: £50,000 – 80,000), collectively lending delight and exotic charm to the group.
A Chinese export reverse-painted mirror picture, circa 1770. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2013.
The bevelled plate painted with two European ladies, one playing a cello, the other a harpsichord, in a pavilion framed by blue drapery beside a palm tree, a rocky landscape beyond, in original moulded zitan frame with bronze handle, inscribed to the reverse in red chalk 'over fireplace'; 36¾ x 22¾ in. (93.5 x 58 cm.) overall. Estimate: £8,000-12,000
Provenance: Mr. and Mrs. Walter Hayes Burns, sister of J.P. Morgan, North Mymms Park, Hertfordshire.
Thence by descent to Major-General Sir George Burns, KCVO, CB, DSO, OBE, MC, North Mymms Park, Hertfordshire; sold Christie's house sale, 24-26 September 1979, lot 66.
A Chinese export reverse-painted mirror picture, circa 1770. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2013.
Depicting a pregnant young lady with a flower and feather hat and holding a basket of fruit, standing beside a tree and a lake, with a house beyond, in original moulded rosewood frame, inscribed to the reverse with a Chinese character, in red chalk 'over bed (left)' and with paper label inscribed 'Nro: 62' and '5'; 26¼ x 21 in. (66.5 x 53.5 cm.) overall. Estimate: £8,000-12,000
Provenance: Mr. and Mrs. Walter Hayes Burns, sister of J.P. Morgan, North Mymms Park, Hertfordshire.
Thence by descent to Major-General Sir George Burns, KCVO, CB, DSO, OBE, MC, North Mymms Park, Hertfordshire; sold Christie's house sale, 24-26 September 1979, lot 63.
A Chinese export reverse-painted mirror picture, circa 1770. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2013.
The bevelled plate painted with two European ladies leaning on a gnarled tree-trunk and a girl emerging from a curtained doorway, with woodland, a coast and pagoda beyond, in original mother-of-pearl and satinwood-inlaid zitan moulded frame with bronze handle, inscribed to the reverse with a Chinese character and in red chalk 'over bed'; 36 5/8 x 26½ in. (93 x 67 cm.) overall. Estimate: £8,000-12,000
Provenance: Mr. and Mrs. Walter Hayes Burns, sister of J.P. Morgan, North Mymms Park, Hertfordshire.
Thence by descent to Major-General Sir George Burns, KCVO, CB, DSO, OBE, MC, North Mymms Park, Hertfordshire; sold Christie's house sale, 24-26 September 1979, lot 67.
A pair of Chinese export reverse-painted mirror pictures, circa 1750, in later giltwood frames. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2013.
Each depicting a pair of exotic birds in the foreground perched on rocks and foliage, with lake scenes and mountains beyond and bamboo and other trees to either side, within a later pierced C-scroll, rockwork and rush-wrapped frame with water-dripping urns to the lower corners and arched pagoda cresting, re-gilt. 50¼ x 30 7/8 in. (127.5 x 78.5 cm.) (2). Estimate: £40,000-60,000
Provenance: H.J. Joel, Esq., Childwick Bury, St. Albans, Hertfordshire; sold Christie's London, 15 May 1978, lot 56.
Notes: A virtually identical depiction of two pheasants to those featured in one of this pair of mirrors is illustrated in Graham Child's World Mirrors 1650-1900 (London, 1990), pp. 350 & 377, fig. 817, who dates the pair as Qianlong period, circa 1750.
An Anglo-Indian ivory-inlaid rosewood pedestal dining-table, circa 1820-30 (estimate: £50,000 – 80,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2013.
The rounded rectangular top with geometrically inlaid rectangular panels engraved with scrolling entwined foliage and flowers, a vine-engraved moulded border and inlaid with ivory and rosewood lines, on an octagonal spreading and moulded support with further foliate engraved ivory bands, on a concave-sided quadripartite base with ribbon-tied stylised palmettes and on channelled moulded scrolling feet with ivory paterae and castors, re-supported with a new frame to the underside and restorations to the underframe; 29¾ in. (75.5 cm.) high; 67 in. (170.5 cm.) wide; 57 in. (145 cm.) deep.
Provenance: Mrs. Milne.
Anonymous sale, Christie's New York, 20 April 1985, lot 170.
The Mermaid House Collection, St. John's Wood, London; sold Christie's London, 12 November 1998, lot 377.
Notes: Vizagapatam, a port to the north of the Eastern Coromandel Coast of India, was renowned from the late 17th century for its craftsmen's skilled inlaying and veneering of ivory over wooden carcasses. Inspired by Indian chintz and textile patterns, the intricate designs produced there were aligned to Western forms and often engraved with Western scenes. Furniture and objects manufactured in Vizagapatam were considered luxury goods and retailed in Madras and Calcutta. Their popularity spread further by examples brought back to England by leading officials of the East India Company such as Clive of India and Warren Hastings. A group of furniture brought back by Alexander Wynch, an official of the East India Company who served as Governor of Fort St. George from 1773-5, comprising two small bureau-cabinets, two settees, two corner armchairs and fourteen side chairs, was bought by George III at the sale of Wynch's estate at Christie's in 1781 and is now at Buckingham Palace.
The plaques of densely scrolling foliage re-used in this table relate to several pieces dated to the mid-18th century and illustrated in A. Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon, London, 2001, pp. 187-193, nos. 40-42. Whilst furniture and objects produced in the early 18th century were wholly inlaid with complex patterns and designs in ivory, fashions and techniques evolved and items produced in the late 18th century were often veneered in their entirety in engraved ivory. The ivory veneers employed on this table almost certainly were re-used from a transitional piece of furniture from the mid-18th century, such as a small bureau or commode, which possibly would have had its drawers and surfaces bordered with such veneers.
Works of Art from the Private Collection of Anouska Hempel (Lots 270-352)
The collection of Early Portraits formed by Anouska Hempel at her home was dramatically displayed in a triple-hang on the staircase. The rich dark tones of the paintings – both austere and charming in turn – were perfectly offset by her signature red and black furnishings which combined luxurious lacquer from China, such as a pair of 19th century centre tables (estimate: £6,000-10,000), with whimsical ‘Sailor’s Valentines’ made of shells from Barbados (estimates range from £800 to £4,000), in a quirky, eclectic and very ‘English’ look.
Comprising 82 lots, her collection includes a group of six portraits dating to 1626 which are known as the “Shafto” paintings, due to their Bavington Hall provenance, a house in Northumberland which belonged to the Shafto family and immortalised in the famous northern song ‘Bobby Shafto’ (lots 306-311 from left to right illustrated above, estimates range from £7,000 to £25,000). Further highlights include an English School portrait of Frances Marbury, aged 27, and her daughter, aged 4, of Marbury Hall Cheshire, dated 1613 (estimate: £30,000 – 50,000) and a half-length portrait by Cornelis Jonson (1593-1661) of Elisabeth Campion, from Danny Park, Sussex (estimate: £40,000-60,000).
A pair of Imperial Mughal red sandstone pierced screens (jaalis) dating to North India in the second half of the 17th century (estimate: £6,000-8,000) is offered alongside a Mughal marble fountain, circa 1700 (estimate: £5,000-7,000); these lots are among a small group of very attractive Indian items which would be marvellous additions to inspired garden design.