A pair of early George III mahogany, satinwood, amaranth, limewood, mother-of-pearl and marquetry pier tables circa 1760

the rectangular tops each inlaid with the Lyttelton coat-of-arms and motto 'UNG DIEU, UNG ROY', within a bellflower wreath and slender border with rosettes to the corners, the friezes carved with grape-vines and with a shaped central apron section, the square tapering legs with inset panels carved with pendant leaves with block feet carved with paterae  

Commissioned by Sir George Lyttelton, 5th Bt., and 1st Baron Lyttelton of Frankley (d. 1773) for the Gallery, Hagley Hall, Worcestershire and by descent at Hagley Hall.

G. Beard, 'Hagley Hall, Worcestershire', Connoisseur Year Book, 1954, p. 17, no. XII.

J. Cornforth, 'Hagley Hall, Worcestershire - I', Country Life, 27 April 1989, p. 137, fig. 3.

 

Overall in an excellent condition. The tops have been refinished with a hard lacquer but much of the original engraving appears to have remained beneath whilst there have been some refreshments and repairs to the inlay. One table with a slight split running horizontally to the top and with a partial split to the mahogany board beneath. The same table with a replaced patch of veneer to the rear left edge of the top. There is a slight uneveness to the top surface due to movement of boards beneath. Small losses and replaced carvings to the carving on the frieze. Some small replacements to the leaves on the legs and some small losses. Some very slight lifting to marquetry veneers on top. The other table with a small veneer loss at the same point to rear left side and also to rear right side. The front edges of both tables with joins in the long runs of amaranth vaneer to the edges, very well matched and most probably original. There is a repaired patch to front left corner. There is some slight cracking to the veneer on the top mainly to the right side of the top. The carved decoration to the frieze with losses and replacements. The central cluster with some reconfiguring to the leaves covering a loss. The lower part of pendant apron with repaired crack that could be improved. There are also further replacements. There are some losses to the carving on the legs and some replacements to the carving to the legs. There is a section of four leaves to the inside of rear left leg which is replaced. It is probable, given the recent opportunity to compare these tables with the chairs from the suite that were sold in New York that the tables may have been made and conceived slightly later than the original furnishings of Hagley Hall, probably in the mid-1770s or early 1780's. The tops of the tables and the bases are apparently by a different hand and are presumably indicative of Lord Lyttleton's indecision.
"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."

These magnificent pier tables were commissioned by Sir George Lyttelton together with an extensive suite of seat furniture, mirrors and girandoles as part of the furnishing scheme for the gallery at Hagley Hall, quite possibly one of the earliest tripartite rooms in an English country house. The celebrated Hagley Park, an attraction in it's own right in the mid-eighteenth century, undoubtedly served as an inspiration for the interiors. The gallery extends the length of the eastern front before leading into the drawing room where the walls are adorned with a magnificent set of floral tapestries in the manner of Joshua Morris, a further indication of Lord Lyttelton's desire to bring the parkland and gardens into the house. Indeed Christopher Hussey notes in English Country Houses, Early Georgian 1715-1760, London, 1955, p. 198 'The whole depth of the east side is occupied by the Gallery, subdivided by two screens of columns. The general lightness is relieved by green on the walls and in the frieze; and in the central compartment of the ceiling the rococo is anglicized by floral naturalism.'

Indeed the furniture further enhances the naturalism, the vine decoration on this pair of tables,  is reflected in a frame of a painting of 1st Lord Lyttelton's sister, Hester in Van Dyck dress and which is illustrated in J. Cornforth, 'Hagley Hall, Worcestershire - I', Country Life, 27 April 1989, p. 138, fig. 6. The tables are also similar to the magnificent pier-mirrors in the Gallery which share the combined use of differently toned timbers to enhance the depth of carving (J. Cornforth, op.cit., p. 139. fig. 9), and show certain elements of design with the work of luminaries such as William Linnell, Thomas Johnson, Thomas Chippendale and Matthias Lock, whose design for a girandole (see. P. Ward-Jackson, English Furniture Designs of the Eighteenth Century, London, 1958, fig. 57) closely resembles those formerly in the Gallery and ascribed to the London carver Edward Griffith.

Unfortunately the fire that ripped through Hagley in 1925 destroyed many of the records of the house and as such it has been impossible to firmly attribute any of the furniture to specific cabinet-makers. The inspiration has surely been drawn from the 17th century picture frames of Grinling Gibbons influence bequest by Henry 3rd Viscount Brouncker in 1687 to Sir Charles Lyttelton, 1st Lord Lyttelton's grandfather, which display foliate lime-carved decoration on oak frames, one of which is illustrated in J. Cornforth, op.cit., p.138, fig. 5.

There is however a small group of tantalising correspondence that refers to James Lovell, a carver who has always been associated with the hall chimney-piece at Hagley and whose names appears in Lyttelton's accounts at Hoare's Bank in 1754 when he was paid a paultry sum of £30. He is however recorded as working in plaster, wood, papier-maché, and stone and his work is discussed in Michael McCarthy's article in The Burlington Magazine, April 1973. He worked alongside John Hobcraft at Croome Court in the late 1750s and was described by Bishop Pococke in 1756 as 'a countryman of great genius now established in London'. In a rather unusual mention included in correspondence from Mrs Montagu on 27 August 1760, she sympathises with Lord Lyttelton over the delay in the arrival of the furniture for the drawing room; 'I am so far vexed that the chairs and tables for your drawing room are not ready, but I shall think you outrez the Stoical philosophy if you do not break Mr. Lovell's head.' Subsequently Lord Lyttelton writes to his architect Sanderson Miller in October 1762, 'I have Lovell's book with the drawings, but can find no account of the sum total of the abatements he makes in Bromfield's prices.' Whilst this correspondence gives us no definitive attribution it serves to show that Lovell was indeed employed in a capacity greater than that of just a carver.

The long suite of seat furniture in the Gallery share the distinctive design of the panelled and collared leg infilled with limewood carving of rosettes and pendant flowers and are possibly by the same hand. Two pairs of the chairs were sold by John William Leonard Lyttelton , 11th Viscount Cobham, Christie's London, 14 June 2001, lots 52 and 53 and were subsequently sold, Tom Devenish: The Collection, Sotheby's New York, 24 April 2008, lots 46 and 47.