A fine and rare Anglo-Indian carved and inlaid ebony, faux tortoiseshell and ivory four-poster tester bedstead Composed of late 17th century and early 19th century elements

The cresting with the arms of Christ Church College, Oxford and Thomas, Cardinal Wolsey.

Henry, 3rd Earl of Warwick for the Wolsey Bedroom, Warwick Castle
Thence by descent through the Earls of Warwick
Sold, Sotheby's, London, The sale at Syon Park, Middlesex, 14-16 May 1997, lot 149

Warwick Castle, Heirlooms Inventory,circa 1900, listed in the Chinese Bedroom

Good condition; the bed is sturdy; nicely carved and with good proportions. The cresting with losses to finials and tips of scalloped edges to front corners and back right corner of tester as visible in the catalogue illustration; small section of white ivory gadrooned molding to front right corner lacking; the scalloped apron of the tester with at least three losses to the ivory knops and at least two losses to the ebony knops; underside of tester with silk panel which is tattered and ought to be replaced; the frame of the underside of the tester with small chips and losses to knops but appears to be in good condition and stable. The backboard with large age crack to the lower part going through the legs of the central male and female figures as visible in the catalogue illustration; some smaller typical age cracks to the panel and with some small chips and losses to the finials. Foot board – the back of the footboard with small chips and losses to carving with some small age cracks; the front of the footboard lacking one ivory finial to the right side as visible in the catalogue illustration; frieze lacking small section to ivory beaded molding to top left corner of panel; loss to foliate boss and finial to left corner of the frieze as visible in the catalogue illustration. The posts in good condition and with small nicks and chips to extremities; some age cracks to ivory and ebony molding; some of the ebony turnings with large chips. Please note that there is a bag full of small bits in pieces which pertain to many of the losses noted above which are off but present.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This bed incorporating the coat of arms of Cardinal Wolsey, and made up of elaborately carved and inlaid Indian elements was conceived in the ‘Antiquarian’ taste of the day and belongs to a group of famous beds which all appear in important collections around the same time.  This group of beds appear to have been created in the first quarter of the 19^th century and incorporate late 17^th century elements such as back rests and panels from Indian furniture and made for clients such as the William Beckford at Fonthill Abbey, George Lucy at Charlecote House, the Duke of Hamilton at Hamilton Palace and Earl of Warwick at Warwick Castle (Wainwright, op. cit. p. 239).  This new taste differed from the way in which 18^thcentury patrons and architects designed interiors as a coherent whole in its eclecticism and the mixing and matching of furnishings and objects of different styles and periods.

George Greville, 2^nd Earl of Warwick, like his father before him was an avid, if not financially reckless, collector.  A Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Society of Arts, he purchased Old Master Paintings, Boulle furniture and pietre dure –inlaid tables, works of art and the famous Warwick Vase from his uncle, Sir William Hamilton.  Whilst he died bankrupt, the estates were entailed, which saved much of the collection for his son, Henry.

Henry Greville, 3^rd Earl of Warwick improved Warwick Castle employing Ambrose Poynter in 1830 to remodel the Great Hall after the late 17^th century plaster ceiling collapsed replacing it with a new mediaeval style tie beam roof.  He also installed a new marble floor and hot-air heating system.  Like his father and grandfather before him, he was a great collector, though fiscally more responsible, and expanded the collection buying exotic inlaid ebony furniture, works of art and magnificent kunstkammer silver-gilt (including the Duke of York’s silver service from Christie’s in 1827).  These works of art are listed by Kendall and praised by Charles Spicer in his history of Warwick Castle, The Vitruvius Britannicus, 1844, and by Henry Cooke, Warwick Castle and its Gardens,1846.  It is most likely that this Earl bought the bed in the late 1820s/30s.

This collection was being formed at exactly the same time as George Lucy was amassing furnishings for nearby Charlecote House including the ‘Lancaster State Bed’, a very similar Anglo-Indian ebony and ivory bed.  In 1823, Lucy bought 64 items of varied provenance at the sale of Fonthill Abbey, William Beckford’s Gothic extravaganza in Wiltshire.  However, the ‘Lancaster State Bed’ was bought privately years later after the sale through E. English in 1837. (Wainwright, op. cit., p. 235)  Lucy continued to work with London dealers like English buying furniture of different dates and styles, sculptures, books and vases.

The other great collector of the age was the Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, the 10^th Duke of Hamilton and 7^th Duke of Brandon (1767-1852, who married Euphemia Beckford, daughter of William Beckford in 1810, putting him in contact with some of Beckford's agents, such as Robert Hume, who eventually became the chief interior designer of Hamilton Palace and Franchi, who bought art for the Duke in France during the 1820s and 1830s.  The famous Hamilton Palace bed was made by John Stuart under the direction of Buhard Orwin of Charlotte Place and supplied to the Duke by the London dealer and antiquarian John Webb. (Jaffer, op. cit. p. 131)

References:

Amin Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon, London, 2001

A. A. Tait, 'The Duke of Hamilton's Palace', The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 125, No. 964, July 1983

Clive Wainwright, The Romantic Interior, New Haven and London, 1989.