A REGENCY ORMOLU-MOUNTED AND BRASS-INLAID ROSEWOOD SIDE CABINET ATTRIBUTED TO GEORGE BULLOCK, CIRCA 1815

with scagliola columns and a mirror in the central recess

By repute, The Dukes of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
Wateringbury Place, Maidstone, Kent, The Property of David Style, Esq., Part II, Christie's, June 1-2, 1978, lot 527
Sotheby’s London, November 19, 1993, lot 141
Property from the Collections of Lily and Edmond J. Safra, Sotheby's New York, November 3-4, 2005, lot 177

Helena Hayward, World Furniture, London: 1965, p.206, fig.768

Clive Wainwright, George Bullock Cabinet Maker, 1988, pp. 69-71, note 13

In good condition and ready to place. The brass is in excellent condition. The marble with minor abrasions to edge and a restored old break to the rear right corner. The mirror with some losses to silvering at base. Scattered scratches, scuffing and minor patches to veneer consistent with use and age. Age cracks to the sides and rear and sides of the central niche. Also one age crack to the front right of the central niche platform. The right door is now difficult to open and there is an age crack to the rosewood by the hinge at the base. Some very minor abrasion to the tops of some of the scagliola columns and one very small surface loss to the far right column.
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.

George Bullock (1777/8-1818) was one of the most innovative and unconventional British furniture designers of the Regency period. He is particularly noted for his distinctive use of inlaid brass marquetry, an early example of the Boulle revival in 19th century English furniture design. Born in Birmingham, he was established as a sculptor and cabinetmaker in Liverpool by 1804, where he ran a workshop and retail outlet called the Grecian Rooms, and by 1809 was recorded working in London.  He was also an exhibitor at both the Royal and Liverpool Academies.  He is most famous for his exploitation of native British materials including woods such as larch and bog oak and Mona Marble from the island of Anglesey in Wales (the quarry of which he became the owner) - possibly as a patriotic and commercial response to the Napoleonic wars. 

This exceptional cabinet is similar to another example attributed to Bullock illustrated in Hayward fig.768, that shares the same central mirrored panel recess and laurel leaf-cast moulded border to the marble top.  Both pieces also have similar anthemion brass inlay on the flanking door fronts, a motif that also appears on a side cabinet attributed to Bullock in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, ill. in Wainwright p.69 fig. 25.

The present lot is similar to p.95 of the Wilkinson Tracings, a set of over 200 sheets of designs for furniture and marquetry described on the cover page as "Tracings by Thomas Wilkinson, from the designs of the late Mr George Bullock 1820" (now in the City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery).  This fascinating document represents the best surviving compendium of Bullock's oeuvre and is an invaluable aid to attribution since his work was unsigned.

Although Bullock was soon forgotten after his premature death in 1818, he worked for some of the most illustrious clients of the day, including the Duke of Atholl at Blair Castle, the son of Matthew Boulton at Tew Park, the novelist Sir Walter Scott and  most famously Napoleon in exile at Longwood House on St Helena, in addition to potentially supplying the Dukes of Marlborough with the present lot.  In view of this it is entirely appropriate that this cabinet has enjoyed such an equally distinguished provenance in the 20th century.