A fine George III mahogany secretaire bookcase in the manner of Thomas Chippendale circa 1765

the cresting with scrolled swan-neck broken pediment centered by a projecting shelf above fretwork panels, the dentil-molded cornice above a case fitted with a pair of glazed doors opening to adjustable shelves, the projecting lower section centered by a secretaire drawer fronted by dummy drawers and opening to an arrangement of pigeon holes and small drawers and flanked by a bank of two short drawer on either side above a pair of cupboard doors opening to two banks of four graduated drawers, raised on a molded plinth.  The reverse of the upper section witha chalked inscription Col. W / X LANGHORN (?), the interior of one rail to the plinth with penciled inscription Lerin.../ Clo... (?).  Interior of one drawer with an old pinted label NORWICH CASTLE / MUSEUM and numbered 44.490.  Losses, repairs, one handle later.

By repute, the Rev. Michael Davey Lines, Rector of Yoxford, Suffolk, from whose family the piece descended

Purchased from the above in 1900 by Mr. R. Levine, Norwich

Pratt & Sons, London

Mr. John M. Graham

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

The Connoisseur, June, 1956, back cover advertisement

The Williamsburg Collection of Antique Furnishings, Williamsburg: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1973, p. 24 (illustrated)

Although it is not possible to firmly attribute this secretaire cabinet to Thomas Chippendale, several characteristics of its design and construction strongly suggest his manufacture.  Designed in Chippendale's early neo-Classical style, the bookcase features several of his trademarks: the scroll-carved terminals to the swan's-neck pediment (cf. The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 1762, 3^rd ed., pl. CVIII for a 'Desk & Bookcase'); identical glazing bars to those for a 'Library Bookcase',  op. cit., XCV; the pattern of gilt-brass handles often used by the firm (cf. a commode at Goldsborough Hall, supplied by Chippendale, circa 1770); the astragal moldings to the cupboard doors below, with concave corners mounted with flowerhead roundels (cf. a drawing for a library table in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, with an identical door and an engraved design for a desk and bookcase, op. cit., 1762, 3^rd ed., pl. CVII).

Solid mahogany timbers are found throughout, the pine shelves to the upper section are stained red and faced with mahogany, the doors below are veneered in beautiful matched flame veneers on mahogany panels and the use of the lustrous mahogany fronts to the secretaire drawer (with stamped brass axe-head handles, cf. a secretaire at Paxton, C. Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, 1978, vol. II, p. 60), all qualities associated with Chippendale.  A secretaire with a similar configuration to the arrangement of the drawers and attributed to Chippendale was sold, Christie's, London, November 24, 2005, lot 131.  The left fretwork panel to the laminated pediment has been replaced; the right panel appears to be original and is cut out of the solid from a single piece of mahogany and is applied at the back of the pediment as the last laminate.

An interesting constructional feature possibly unique to Chippendale's furniture is the chamfered bottom side edge of each of the four sections; this is received into a conforming chamfered molding of each section, thereby fitting securely and avoiding sliding the two sections together from the back, thereby reducing the possibility of damaging the moldings.  An unseen feature, it was more expensive to produce and a sign of fine quality.  Cf. a related secretaire cabinet sold in these rooms in the manner of Thomas Chippendale, October 16, 2009, lot 111 ($34,375 including premium), with identical mahogany drawers gilt-metal handles to the lower section.

The concave quarter-moldings to the drawers are found in case furniture made by Thomas Chippendale and John Cobb.

See also, M. Harris,  A Catalogue of Antique Furniture and Works of Art, n.d., for a very similar secretaire bookcase, with pierced fretwork panels to the pediment centered by a platform, dentil moldings and scroll-carved terminals, property of the late Dr. Sydney [sic] Martin (1860-1924), p. 66, no. F11098.  Chippendale supplied a library table to the banker John Martin of Ham Court, Upton-upon-Severn, Gloucestershire, either on September 5, 1773 or May 9, 1775, that was sold in these rooms, HSBC's Corporate Art Collection, October 21, 2004, lot 34.  It would be interesting to discover if these two Martins were members of the same family.