A GEORGE III SATINWOOD, MAHOGANY AND TULIPWOOD MARQUETRY HANGING SHELF, CIRCA 1770

fitted with two mahogany-lined drawers.

Good restored condition, nice quality, minor replacements to veneers, two small plugs to top of left inside section, age cracks to veneers of sides, old marks and scratches, later pulls to drawers.
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.

The flower and foliate-inlaid marquetry found on this lot is closely related to that found on a large group of commodes and tables which are designated as the Stanmer group by Lucy Wood in Catalogue of Commodes - The Lady Lever Art Gallery, London, 1994. Besides the inlay, the group, which takes its name from a commode formerly at Stanmer Park, the seat of Henry Thomas Pelham, 3^rd Earl of Chichester (Wood. op. cit., no. 11), has several other characteristics in common including their construction and choice of veneers. Although she suggests several leading cabinet-makers including John Cobb and Pierre Langlois as possible authors of the group, she concludes that 'The dearth of documentation for this furniture tends increasingly to implicate the practice of a habitual sub-contractor . . . The maker of this group may therefore persist in eluding discovery'.