A George III mahogany kneehole desk, by Thomas Chippendale, 1774

with fine flame-figured mahogany veneers, the moulded top above a mahogany-lined frieze drawer fitted with a baize-lined writing slide above divided compartments, the central kneehole door enclosing a single shelf, flanked by three drawers to each side, on a bracket feet with Greek-key pattern, one handle replaced, the remaining handles and locks apparently original

Commissioned from Thomas Chippendale in 1774 by Ninian Home for Paxton House, Berwickshire, at a cost of £6.12;
Thence by decent until sol by Mrs. Home-Robertson, Christie's London, 25 June, 1970, lot 44;
With Norman Adams, London, 5 May 1972;
Christie's London, 50 Years of Collecting: decorative Arts of Georgian England, 14 May 2003, lot 140;
Private Collection.

Illustrated Christopher Gilbert, 'Chippendale Senior and Junior at Paxton 1774-91', Connoisseur, August 1972, p. 256, fig. 5;
Illustrated Christopher Claxton Stevens and Stewart Whittington, 18th Century English Furniture, The Norman Adams Collection, Woodbridge, 1985, pp. 108-109 and described as a 'desk of superbly figured mahogany and excellent proportions';
Illustrated Christopher Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, London, 1978, vol. II, p. 228, fig. 415.

RELATED LITERATURE

Alastair Rowan, Paxton House, Berwickshire I and II, Country Life, 17 and 24 August 1967;
Anthony Coleridge, 'Chippendale, Interior-Decorator and House-Furnisher, Apollo Magazine, January to June 1963

This table is in good, largely untouched condition. The colour and patina are both excellent. The top has a shrinkage crack which had been sensitively filled and minor old marks and scratches consistent with age and use. The colour to the top is very consistent throughout and the flame veneers of the drawer and cupboard fronts also have a wonderful colour. The right return also with a small shrinkage crack. There is a small chip to the Greek Key pattern on the left bracket foot, visible in the catalogue image. There are some minor scuffs to the lower corners of the kneehole and bracket feet as to be expected. A red wash - typical of Chippendale's output - has been applied to the interior, reverse and underside of the carcass. One of the brass handles possibly replaced but of identical form. A piece of outstanding quality. 9.11. 2015 Please note an old repaired break to the entrelac molding on the right return has been identified whilst on view.
"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 present kneehole ‘Buroe table’ was supplied by Thomas Chippendale to Ninian Home in 1774 as part of the extensive Paxton House commission (see previous lot). Invoiced as 'A neat mahogany Buroe Table with Divisions in the upper drawer and a Slider covered with Green Cloth...£6.12.0.' (fig. 1) by Chippendale & Haig, it would presumably have been used as a dressing table by Home’s wife, Penelope, daughter of Sir Christopher Payne, Bt. In fact, the desk is recorded in a bedroom in the Inventory and Valuation of the Furniture of Paxton House, dated 1828 and compiled by John Veitch clerk to William Trotter, Upholsterers in Edinburgh, where it is described as a ‘dressing table’. However, the incorporation of a writing slide suggests a dual purpose.

Conceived in the fashionable ‘French’ or ‘antique’ manner, the desk has all the hallmarks of the celebrated St. Martin's Lane cabinet-maker's timeless quality. Employing the finest mahogany, the beautifully flamed veneers are enriched with restraint. Simply decorated with a border of crisply carved guilloche and a pronounced Greek key motif on the bracket feet - decorations which feature on other pieces of case and dining room furniture at Paxton (Gilbert, op. cit., p. 61, fig. 95) - the present lot embraces the emerging neoclassical aesthetic of the 1770s.

By the time Chippendale published the 3^rd Edition of The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director in 1762, the ‘antique’ was once again in vogue, promoted by publications such as the Society of Dilletanti's publication of James 'Athenian' Stuart's Antiquities of Athens, 1762. Robert Adam, who decorated two ceilings at Paxton and commissioned Chippendale & Haig to furnish the home, was a key proponent of this aesthetic. In the present lot, we see Chippendale’s understanding of the interior as a whole. The desk was intended to stand beneath a pier-glass and as such its triumphal arch form, ‘antique’ decoration and restrained rectilinear outline were all intended to harmonise with Adam’s neoclassical vision.

Chippendale's ability to continually evolve and adapt his designs to reflect the fashions of the day is brilliantly demonstrated by the Paxton House desk, as the original pattern for this ‘Buroe Table’ is found in the 1st Edition of The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director, 1754, pl. XLVI (fig. 2). Twenty years on, we see Chippendale embracing the influence of French sources, such as an engraving of a Louis XIV sarcophagus-commode which had been issued in l'Oeuvre Complet de Jean Berain and clearly had a direct influence on Chippendale’s pattern for a ‘French Commode’ in the 3rd Edition, 1762 (pl. LXVIII), where we first see the introduction of the Greek-key bracket foot as featured on the present lot.