A Regency mahogany hall bench attributed to George Bullock circa 1815

Lyon & Turnbull, December 10, 2010, lot 403

 

Good condition; handle to one side slightly loose; some minor nicks and wear to the extremities with usual minor scratches and bruises. Nice color and surface to the mahogany.
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 window seat can be attributed to the workshop of George Bullock (b.1777-1778 – d.1818). Bullock had a varied career, having various partners and cabinet works both in Liverpool and London until his death; although, it is clear that he was originally trained as a sculptor and modeler. It was noted in August 1798 that although he had ‘gained such repute in Birmingham’ he was ‘returning to London, the statue business not answering his expectations’. He exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1804, and is then recorded in Liverpool in 1804 as a ‘Modeller and Sculptor’. In the same year he formed a partnership with William Stoakes, a ‘Looking Glass Manufacturer’, as ‘Bullock and Stoakes Cabinet Makers, General Furnishers and Marble Workers, 48 Church Street’. Their premises were called the ‘Grecian Room’, but by 1807 the partnership was over, Bullock moving his ‘Grecian Room’ to 23 Bold Street. In 1809-1810 he joined Soane’s assistant J. M. Gandy in a partnership styled ‘Bullock, George and Joseph Gandy, architects, modelers, sculptors, marble masons, cabinet makers and upholsterers’ at 55 Church Street. Again the partnership did not prosper and by late 1810 Bullock was living in London, opening in 1813 at the Grecian Rooms, Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly as 'George Bullock, upholsterers'. In 1815 he was established as ‘Sculptor, 4 Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, Mona Marble and Furniture Works, Oxford Street’.  A set of three window seats of this form from the Lily and Edmond Safra collection sold in these rooms, November 3, 2005, lot 354 ($48,000).

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

Clive Wainwright, George Bullock: Cabinet Maker, 1988
Christie’s, house sale, Great Tew, Oxfordshire, May 27-29, 1987, lot 31