A gilt-bronze and brass mounted mahogany writing desk with clock, attributed to Johann Christian Härder Brunswick, circa 1805

the tripartite superstructure with gilt-bronze pierced gallery on a stepped top, above a triglyph frieze, the upper body divided by plain pilasters with a clock flanked by tambour doors opening to reveal three shelves and two drawers to each side; the clock with circular enamelled dial with Arabic numerals and inscribed ‘A.N. Delolme’, with bronze mounted ribbon-tied husk garlands above and with drapery garland with Apollo mask below, all on a plain brass rectangular panel above a smaller brass panel with gilt bronze mounted garland frieze; the hinged writing flap above beaded panelled drawer with central vertical mille-raies lozenge escutcheon, flanked by paterae above low pilasters above square tapering legs ending on brass caps, the front legs with horizontal mille-raies brass panels

Possibly, Elizabeth, Lady Craven, Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1750-1828);

Thence by descent with the Earls of Craven;

Sold by Countess of Craven, Sotheby's, Works of Art, Clocks, Tapestries and Important French Furniture, 12 November 1965, lot 100;

European Private Collection.

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

Dietrich Fabian, Roentgen Möbel aus Neuwied, Internationale Akademie fur Kulturwissenschaften, Bad Neustadt, 1986;

Dietrich Fabian, Abraham and David Roentgen, Internationale Akademie fur Kulturwissenschaften, Bad Neustadt, 1996;

Dietrich Fabian, Kinzing+Roentgen: Uhren aus Neuwied, Internationale Akademie fur Kulturwissenschaften, Bad Neustadt, 1984;

Josef Maria Greber, Abraham un David Roentgen, Möbel fur Europa, 2 vols., Josef Keller Verlagg, Starnberg, 1980;

Hans Huth, Roentgen Furniture: Abraham and David Roentgen: European Cabinet-Makers, Sotheby Parke Bernet, London-New York, 1974;

Wolfram Koeppe, Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2012.

In overall good conserved condition. There are very minor marks and scratches consistent with age and normal usage. There are some very minor restorations to the veneer and minor loss to moulding on the corner of the cornice. There is a very minor repair to veneer to flap (right hand side) and a very minor loss to the veneer of the flap (left hand side); The bronze and brass clock section in need of a light clean and very minor loss to head of Mercury's (hat's right wing). There is a very minor repair to veneer between brass panels and a very small crack to wood behind the brass panel. Moulding at base of back panels slightly warped. Clock description: 4¼-inch enamel dial signed A N Delolme, horloger de la Cour, ********, the movement with verge escapement, the balance mounted on the backplate, internal count wheel striking on a bell. Condition: Dial has chips to right winding hole and other scratches and marks, town of origin has been deleted. Movement is complete and reasonably clean, it looks as though it would run but may benefit from a clean and service.
"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."

The design of this elegant and sophisticated piece of furniture is clearly derived from the creations by the German master cabinet-maker David Roentgen (1743-1807) but it can be attributed to Johann Christian Härder (1760-1828), his disciple and partner in Brunswick. The clock in this piece, signed by the court clockmaker in this principality, Delolme, affirms this attribution.

Elements such as the mille-raies brass panels, the beaded drawers, even the superstructure, are all profusely used by the prolific Roentgen workshop at Neuwied. This workshop prepared several leading cabinet-makers for their own careers throughout Europe. Heinrich Gambs and Christian Meyer, for example, established successful businesses in St. Petersburg, while Johann Klinckerfuss made his name in Stuttgart and David Hacker in Berlin.

Johann Christian Härder (also Herder or Herter) was among this group and, with the help of his master, established a workshop in Brunswick. Born in Wiedischen, he married in 1788 Albertina Henriette, who was also an employee in Roentgen’s factory. Härder was probably an apprentice in Neuwied between 1770 and 1774 and worked closely with his master, travelling with him on many trips around Europe, including those to Paris and St Petersburg.

Before the end of the 18^th century, the entrepreneurial spirit of David Roentgen lead him to suggest to Karl Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, that he ought to establish a workshop lead by Härder in his principality, an idea that was welcomed. Härder was then granted the privilege to set-up a Kunst-Meublen Fabrik von Neuwied in 1800. Three years previously, Roentgen, probably a silent partner in this enterprise, was already preparing the move and writes as follows: ‘I have found a very special place for my Christian Herter. I am going to let him to come to me so that he can later start his own studio’'

By 1802, Härder is mentioned in a Brunswick directory as a manufacturer of “clocks with harps and flutes, precision and other types of clocks in pyramid cases, and all kinds of bronze-decorated writing desks, commodes with and without marble tops, bronze decorated mahogany tables, secretary desks, fortepianos, and travel necessaires”.  By 1802 he was selling to important patrons such as Carl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, who mentions a meeting with Härder in Pyrmont: ‘A friend of Kronrath, who is established in Roentgen’s studio in Braunschweig, brought some beautiful cabinets with him…these things are beautiful and yet extremely inexpensive.’ 

The design of this ‘bronze-decorated writing desk’ follows the late Louis XVI and Directoire elegantly restrained style which characterizes Roentgen’s output. The quality of the construction of this desk is at the same level of what was being produced in by the main workshop in Neuwied and the bulk of the Brunswick’s production will probably be always mixed with Roentgen's oeuvre. Until recently, no furniture by Härder was known and although it seems that the cabinet-maker did not sign his pieces, a body of work attributed to him has been slowly growing.

Fabian attributes two clocks to him - a standing clock in Veste Coburg and a similar clock from Schloss Charlotttenburg in Berlin (Kinzig+Roentgen, cat. nrs. 58 and 59) - while Koeppe also assigns to him a very impressive fall-front secretaire in Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin (Extravagant Inventions, p.234-236) which incorporates a typical Roentgen writing desk and lectern mechanism, seen in seven other known pieces by the master, re-affirming the strong link between the two cabinet-makers.

Two other examples of the present model of desk are known and have been attributed to Härder: one at Schloss Wilhemshohe in Kassel (fig.1) and a third in a private collection (illustrated in Fabian, 1986, p.795). They have very minor differences in decoration between the three, namely to the triglyph frieze, the bronze mounts to clock and paterae mounts. All carry similar clocks, with the present piece and the private example signed by Antoine Nicolas Delolme (1752-1836). Son and grandson of clockmakers, Delolme established his business in Brunswick where he became court clockmaker (Hofuhrmacher Herzogtum Braunschweig) in the early 19th century. Several of his clocks and watches signed ‘A.N.Delolme / Horloger de la cour / a Brunsvic’ are in existence. One table clock by Delolme carrying a Roentgen style case was sold Christie’s Amsterdam (The Decorative Arts Sale, 30 June 2010, lot 434) and it is likely that it was also a collaborative work between Delolme and Härder.

Delolme's position as court clockmaker in Brunswick possibly led to a partnership evolving between him and Härder, akin to that of Roentgen and Kinzig's, further underlining this desk's attribution to Härder's workshop.

Elizabeth, Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach

This writing table was most likely the one sold by the dowager Countess of Craven in 1965 and it is possibly that it joined the Craven’s collections through the German connections of Elizabeth (1750-1828), Lady Craven.

Elizabeth Craven, Princess Berkeley, Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach, had perhaps the most remarkable and colourful life of all the Craven ancestors. Daughter of the fourth Earl of Berkeley, she was the wife of the 6^th Baron Craven and a prominent playwright, socialite and novelist best known for travelogues recorded on her extensive journeys across Europe during the late 18^th century.

Her marriage to the 6^th Baron was marked by scandal; both parties had a string of liaisons culminating in their permanent separation in 1780 after 13 years of marriage and six children. Following her separation from Lord Craven, Elizabeth took up with her married lover the German prince Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Bayreuth, nephew of Frederick the Great and first cousin of the Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

It was during this period that Elizabeth moved to France and began touring the continent - which included a visit to Brunswick - and the Ottoman Empire recording her movements and experiences in a constant stream of correspondence with the Margrave. Elizabeth also maintained contact with her high profile friends in London including Samuel Johnson, Horace Walpole and James Boswell.  Indeed Walpole would sometimes address impromptu stanzas to her in his writing and would often review her new plays with the utmost enthusiasm.

Following the death of Lord Craven and Charles Alexander’s wife in 1791 the pair was married in Lisbon. The Margrave having no children and wishing to live in England sold his principality to the King of Prussia and settled in England. They acquired the 6^th Baron’s seat of Benham Park, Berkshire as well as a mansion in Hammersmith, renamed Brandenburg House and later rented by Queen Caroline of Brunswick. Charles Alexander died in 1806, at which point Elizabeth moved to Craven Villa, Naples living there until her death in 1828. Having had no children with Charles Alexander, her heirs were the children from her first marriage.