Check out the central frieze on this breakfront… the oval “sunflower” design is a staple of Ince & Mayhew work. Every English antiques dealer dreams of seeing this on a period piece: Le Trianon - A Fine George III Mahogany Breakfront Cabinet attributed to Ince & Mayhew, based on a design of Robert Adam
Love 1) the blind fretwork 2) the glow of this mahogany: Jayne Thompson Antiques - Chippendale Period Kneehole Chest
Under $1 million? Attributed to my namesake? Bargain.
It Almost sounds as if the catalogue-writer is calling Mr. Chippendale unoriginal: “Its eclectic Franco-Italian ornament applied to an essentially Palladian structure is represented in a pattern for a ‘Desk & Bookcase’ in his first edition of the Director in 1754 (pl. LXXVIII; and pl. CVIII in the 1762 edition). The serpentine voluted pediment framing a bust-plinth is in the revived antique manner of the celebrated architect Inigo Jones (d. 1650), while the inlaid drawer panels derive from a Louis XIV commode in the antique style designed and engraved by the ornamentalist Jean Berain (d. 1711) (L’Oeuvre Complet de Jean Berain, n.d., pl. 88; reproduced in Messer sale, lot 130). The fretted ‘triumphal arch’ and tablet-form glazing bars and inlaid medallions correspond to the neoclassical style introduced by the architect and designer Robert Adam (d. 1792).” (Jean Berain?! Puh-leeze… Where are the naked dancers named after him?)
Christie’s fall European Dec. Arts catalog is up, and there are treasures galore:
George III Mahogany “Bonheur Du Jour” attributed to John Cobb - circa 1765-1770
Check out the carving along the frieze & canted corners… this is very well done: O’Sullivan Antiques - George III mahogany chest on chest
Stunning carving… it takes some really dense Mahogany to create rococo forms like these: George III Mahogany Gainsborough Chair with Needlework Upholstery
18th Century Statuary, Sienna and Jasper Marble Chimneypiece
This chimneypiece costs more than my parents’ first home… but that hardly makes it less stunning as an object. Worth noting: the unusual use of Sicilian Jasper in the center frieze, the symmetrical-but-unique carved designs on each pilaster.
