A George II carved white marble chimneypiece circa 1735, the design attributed to William Kent

the mantelpiece with a leaf carved border, the breakfront frieze with egg and dart decoration and central tablet depicting the head of Diana flanked by deeply scrolled acanthus supported by scrolled volutes and plain panelled jambs with leaf carved mouldings, the surround with running Vitruvian scroll border, ribbon and flower head ornament ending on plain block plinths

Supplied under the direction of William Kent to William Cavendish, 3^rd Duke of Devonshire (1698-1755), for the Second Drawing Room, later part of the The Ballroom, Devonshire, House, Piccadilly, London

 

Christopher Simon Sykes, Private Palaces, 1985, p. 271, illustrated in situ in the Ballroom;
David Pierce, London Mansions, The Palatial Houses of the Nobility, 1986, p. 150, pl. 111 illustrated in situ in the Ballroom

There are three significant chips above the border of stylised acanthus to the mantelshelf - 7cm long, 14cm long and 5cm long which can be seen in the catalogue illustration. There is a loss to the egg and dart border above the central entablature - 4cm x 2cm. There is residual paint and plaster. The object will benefit from a thorough clean. There are minor chips and marks throughout consistent with age and use with some larger chips to the blocks. There are some rust stains and in particular there are stains to the inside of the jambs. Overall good condition.
"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."

A chimneypiece in the Red Velvet room at Lord Burlington's Chiswick Villa, designed by William Kent in the 1730s, shares corbels and jambs of a nearly identical design and proportion to those on the offered lot (see John Harris, The Palladian Revival, Lord Burlington, His Villa and Garden at Chiswick, 1994, pl. 95). It appears that Kent has once again borrowed elements from Inigo Jones, for certain features on the current chimneypiece demonstrate similarly conceived bold scrolling foliage to the frieze, the designs for which were published by John Vardy, Some Designs of Mr Inigo Jones and Mr W^m Kent, 1744, p. 11, 13 and 14. In several of the Jones chimneypiece designs the recurring decorative devices of masks and cartouches also appear. It is also almost identical to one by William Kent, installed in the Green Drawing Room at 10 Downing Street, residence of the British Prime Minister (see Anthony Seldon, 10 Downing Street, London, 1999, p. 52, 53). In 1732 King George II presented three properties to Sir Robert Walpole who accepted on the condition that they be a gift to the office of First Lord of the Treasury, rather than to him personally. It was Kent to whom Walpole turned to combine these buildings into the structure that we see today.

The frieze on the offered chimneypiece is interspersed with sunflowers, a motif that is echoed on the Summer Parlour ceiling at Chiswick which also employs scrolled cartouches of a similar form to that framing the mask on this central frieze tablet (see Harris op. cit., p. 177, fig. 106). The sunflower is representative of warmth, nourishment and power and also infatuation. In Greek mythology the sunflower stems from Clytie, a water nymph, who falls in love with Apollo but is consistently ignored. Taking pity, the other gods transformed Clytie into a sunflower in the hope of garnering the attention of Apollo.