A pair of Queen Anne giltwood stools circa 1705, attributed to Gerrit Jensen in association with Thomas Pelletier

each with feather-filled cushions applied with panels of brocade within appliqué borders, the stuffed seats with crimson velvet covers decorated with conforming appiqué borders, each on four knopped and pierced tapering square legs carved with foliage and lambrequins above pendant bell flowers issuing from scrolls together with flower head sprays all on a hatched ground, the legs terminating in acanthus leaf collars with waved, scrolling x shaped stretchers below, decorated with conforming carved ornament, on gadrooned square section bun feet, traces of original water-gilded finish showing through a later oil over-gilding, the upholstery largely original

By repute, commissioned by Queen Anne.

Given by George III to Francis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwick and Earl Brooke of Warwick Castle (1719-1773).

Thence by descent, until sold in the 20th century to the current owners of Warwick Castle.

INVENTORIES AND REFERENCES:

1807: Hopton MSS (Leamington Library).

1809 inventory of Warwick Castle records in the State Bedroom:  `Large 4 Post Bedstead with wrought Velvett and bordered with Crimson lined with Green Satin and fring`d

2 White Mattresses

2 Elbow Chairs to match the Bed

2 Large Settees..Do

6 Stools with Cushions Do..'

 

They appear in all subsequent inventories (1853, 1893 and 1924) at the same location, ( ref. CR 1886/466, 708, 783/16).

 

William Field, An historical ....Account of the town and castle of Warwick; and of the neighbouring Spa of Leamington, etc., 1815, pp. 192-3.

Charles William Spicer, History of Warwick Castle, 1844, pp.31-2, illus.

Peter Thornton, 'The Royal State Bed,' The Connoisseur, 175, May-August 1977, P.139.

Adam Bowett, Englsih Furniture, 1660-1714, Fron Charles II to Queen Anne, Woodbridge, 2002, p.246, pl. 8:30 and 8:31.

Related Literature:

Tessa Murdoch `Jean, René and Thomas Pelletier, a Hugenot Family of Carvers and Gilders in England 1682-1726 - Part I and II', Burlington Magazine, November 1997, pp.732-742 and June 1998, pp.364-374.

Tessa Murdoch, Boughton House, The English Versailles', 1992, p.64, pl. 22.

Overall these stools are a remarkable survival and in very good condition. The gilding is a later gilding over the original most probably and should hopefully dry strip to reveal the original surface below. There are some small chips and knocks to the frames and the corner of one foliate knop to the outer edge is chipped and with a loss to the carving. The scarlet upholstery and the silk brocaded elements appear to be original. Overall these are beautiful stools with some chips to the gilding, but generally in an excellent condition. For further information on this Lot, please contact the English Furniture Department on 00 44 (0) 207 293-5470.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The Design of the present stools' supports and stretchers closely relate to a pair of giltwood and lacquer top side tables tables which were supplied to Queen Anne by the Royal Cabinet-Maker Gerrit Jensen, for St. James's Palace in 1704-5 as recorded in the Lord Chamberlain's accounts (PRO LC9 282. No.70 f.79), sold Sotheby's London, 10 July 1998, lot 116.  Although officially recorded as the work of Gerrit Jensen, these tables were almost certainly produced in association with Thomas Pelletier, a leading carver and gilder who himself held a royal warrant and with whom Jensen frequently collaborated. This attribution is documented in Tessa Murdoch op. cit. in which a close study of the carved decoration which is strikingly similar to that of other pieces with which Pelletier is associated, examples of which include a group of six tables with slate tops in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle originally supplied to William III for Hampton Court in 1699, illustrated in Murdoch `Jean, René and Thomas Pelletier, a Hugenot Family of Carvers and Gilders in England 1682-1726 - Part I', Burlington Magazine, November 1997, p. 735, fig. 5; a pair of tables with verde antico, tops, also in the Royal Collection, at Buckingham Palace, believed to have been supplied by Pelletier for Hampton Court Palace in 1700, illustrated in Murdoch op. cit., p.737, fig. 7; and a table in the collection of the Dukes of Buccleuch at Boughton House, Northamptonshire, believed to have been supplied to the 1st Duke of Montagu for Montagu House, London, in 1699, illustrated in Murdoch, op.cit, p.734, fig.4.

Further stylistic and circumstantial evidence supporting the present  lot's association with the Pelletier family of carvers and gilders is provided by a set of stools which are recorded in the `The First State Room' at Boughton see Tessa Murdoch, Boughton House, The English Versailles', 1992, p.64, pl. 22. These also feature very similar supports and stretchers to the aforementioned group of tables linked to the Pelletiers. In particular it should be noted that the legs share the distinctive pierced decoration directly beneath their foliate carved knops. 

The Warwick tables were acquired by Henry Greville, 3rd Earl of Warwick (1816-53) and Gentleman of the Bedchamber to George IV, as a Royal gift and are recorded in the State bedroom at Warwick Castle in the 3rd Earl's posthumous inventory, 1853.

The acquistion of the stools preceded that of the table as described in Hopton's history and guide to Warwick Castle published in 1807, which records that the present stools - still in the collection at Warwick Castle along with the state bed, a pair of settees and a pair of armchairs were '...given by the present King to the late Earl of Warwick. It belongs to Queen Anne' (op. cit). In 1815, this illustrated history was used by William Field in his account of the history of Warwick and surrounding towns, written for 'the information of Strangers' (Field, op. cit.). He provides a description of the State Bed Room, much as it survives today:

The bed and furniture of this room are of crimson velvet, embroidered with green and yellow silk. They belonged to Queen Anne: and were given, by the present King, to the late Earl of Warwick. The room is hung with tapestry, which appears by the date of it, to have been made at Brussels, 1604. It is supposed to represent the Garden of Versailles, as they were at the time. - The Chimney-piece, executed by WESTMACOTT, is remarkably handsome. It is formed of verde antique and white marble. (op. cit., pp.192-3)

The 'late Earl of Warwick' mentioned by Hopton and Field was Francis Greville, who, at the age of twelve, became the 8th Lord Brooke in 1727. When he was fifteen, he embarked on the Grand Tour lasting five years, instilling in him an appreciation of the arts and a desire to collect. In 1742, he married Elizabeth Hamilton, whose brother, Sir William, is remembered as one of the great cognoscenti of his age.  Lord Brooke's elevation to the Earldom of Warwick in 1759 was commemorated by internal alterations to the Castle with the addition of  a new dining room by Lightoler along with further acquisitions representative of his new status. These included silver and silver-gilt,  paintings and furniture, including the present pair of stools, a gift from the king along with the rest of the suite and an indication of his close friendship with the new King George.