- 108
A George II mahogany and silk damask four poster bed, by Giles Grendey, circa 1740
Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- mahogany, silk
- 312.5cm. high, 203cm. wide, 231cm. long; 10ft 3in., 6ft. 8in., 7ft. 7in.
the red damask covered gadrooned cornice centered by the Fane Family Crest of three gauntlets on three sides and with plumed finials to the corners, with a foliate carved damask covered head board, the entwined-husk cabriole legs with stop fluted foot posts on scrolled feet, the cushioned border with silk hangings and skirting, the silk largely replaced
Provenance
Probably acquired by Francis Fane (d. 1757) on his acquisition of Brympton d'Evercy, Somerset in 1731;
The bed and accompanying seat furniture would have been commissioned as part of the refurbishment of the state rooms;
Thence by descent at Brympton d'Evercy;
Sold Brympton d'Evercy house sale, R. B. Taylor & Sons, Yeovil together with John D. Wood& Co., London, 26 November - 1 December 1956;
Bought by Dr. Truesdell from H. W. Keil Ltd., Broadway, Worcestershire in 1964;
Sold, Property from the Collection of Professor and Mrs. Clifford Ambrose Truesdell, Christie's, New York, 7 April 2009, lot 80, where bought by the current owner.
The bed and accompanying seat furniture would have been commissioned as part of the refurbishment of the state rooms;
Thence by descent at Brympton d'Evercy;
Sold Brympton d'Evercy house sale, R. B. Taylor & Sons, Yeovil together with John D. Wood& Co., London, 26 November - 1 December 1956;
Bought by Dr. Truesdell from H. W. Keil Ltd., Broadway, Worcestershire in 1964;
Sold, Property from the Collection of Professor and Mrs. Clifford Ambrose Truesdell, Christie's, New York, 7 April 2009, lot 80, where bought by the current owner.
Literature
P. Macquoid, The Age of Walnut, 1905, p. 187, fig. 166 (Sir Spencer C. Ponsonby Fane) (shown in situ in the State Bedroom at Brympton d'Evercy).
C. Hussey, 'Brympton d'Evercy-II, Somerset', Country Life, 14 May 1927, p. 769, fig. 14 (shown in situ).
The Connoisseur, June 1964 and Country Life, 11 June 1964 (advertisements of H.W. Keil).
C. Hussey, 'Brympton d'Evercy-II, Somerset', Country Life, 14 May 1927, p. 769, fig. 14 (shown in situ).
The Connoisseur, June 1964 and Country Life, 11 June 1964 (advertisements of H.W. Keil).
Condition
In country house condition. The silk lining is significantly distressed as are the finials to the top. The bed will require specialist attention during construction and would benefit form some restoration according to taste.
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
Christopher Hussey described Brympton d'Evercy as 'The most incomparable house in Britain, the one which created the greatest impression and summarises so exquisitely English country life qualities' (Country Life, May 1927). Originally built by the D’Evercy family in 1220, the house underwent a number of expansive alterations, first by the Sydenham family and then by the Fanes. Unfortunately, for the Sydenham’s they were forced to sell the house, due to the extravagance of Sir Philip, in 1731. Francis Fane, barrister and MP, acquired the house at an auction of that year for the price of £15,492.10s.
Fane immediately set about refurbishing the interior of the house including completely re-designing the State Rooms. The State bed would have acted as a status symbol within the house. Although no longer carrying the same integral importance as state apartments had in the 16th and 17th centuries the newly designed rooms would have cemented Fane’s ambitions for the house to be a family seat for generations. Details of the bed’s design reflect this ambition and sense of grandeur Francis Fane wanted to perpetrate upon his acquisition of Brympton. The perforated and open vase finials, reminiscent of ostrich plumes hark back to the previous century’s lavish grandeur. Percy Macquoid points out that 'the scalloped and nulled cornice upon which the damask is tightly strained foreshadows in its form and projecting corners some of the coming characteristics of the later eighteenth-century beds' (P. Macquoid, The Age of Walnut, p. 188). The crimson damask upholstery would have matched the set of chairs commissioned at the same time from Grendey. The combination of the rich damask in every aspect of the state room would have left the visitor with a lasting impression.
On his death Francis Fane bequeathed the house to his brother Thomas, 8th Earl of Westmorland. The house then descended in the family for the next 200 years, although sadly the archival records have been destroyed. The most notable incumbents of the house were the wife and daughter of the 10th Earl of Westmorland, Jane Saunders (d.1857) and her daughter Lady Georgina Fane (d. 1874). The latter famed for being forced by her father not to marry a lowly soldier - the soldier later turning into the 1st Duke of Wellington. The mother and daughter were also responsible for adding to Brympton’s collections of furniture and art. The bed was sold among the contents of the house in a five-day auction conducted by R. B. Taylor & Sons and John D. Wood & Co., 26 November-1 December 1956. Many significant paintings and furniture were dispersed in this sale.
The State bed can be confidently attributed to the workshop of Giles Grendey (d. 1780), cabinet-maker of St. John's Square, Clerkenwell, London. The stylized shell and acanthus-carved legs and hairy paw feet directly correspond to a bed attributed to Grendey and supplied to John Robinson-Lytton (1724-62) for Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, which was sold Christie's, London, Property of the Lady Cobbold, November 14, 1996, lot 36 (£65,300). This carving also corresponds to a suite of furniture thought to have been supplied by Grendey for the State apartments at Longford Castle, Wiltshire (Ralph Edwards and Margaret Jourdain, Georgian Cabinet-Makers, Country Life Ltd., London, rev.ed., 1955, fig. 48). The cabriole legs have the same solid quality with acanthus carved knees and large scrolled toes which correspond to another suite of seat furniture supplied by Grendey for Gunton Park (Christopher Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, W. S. Maney and Sons Limited, London, 1996, p. 243, fig. 437). The stylized pierced shells of the tester bear similarities to those on the backrests of a suite of chairs which Grendey supplied to Henry Hoare of Stourhead, Wiltshire between 1746 and 1752 (Percy Macquoid and Ralph Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, rev. ed. 1983, p. 275, fig. 154).
Fane immediately set about refurbishing the interior of the house including completely re-designing the State Rooms. The State bed would have acted as a status symbol within the house. Although no longer carrying the same integral importance as state apartments had in the 16th and 17th centuries the newly designed rooms would have cemented Fane’s ambitions for the house to be a family seat for generations. Details of the bed’s design reflect this ambition and sense of grandeur Francis Fane wanted to perpetrate upon his acquisition of Brympton. The perforated and open vase finials, reminiscent of ostrich plumes hark back to the previous century’s lavish grandeur. Percy Macquoid points out that 'the scalloped and nulled cornice upon which the damask is tightly strained foreshadows in its form and projecting corners some of the coming characteristics of the later eighteenth-century beds' (P. Macquoid, The Age of Walnut, p. 188). The crimson damask upholstery would have matched the set of chairs commissioned at the same time from Grendey. The combination of the rich damask in every aspect of the state room would have left the visitor with a lasting impression.
On his death Francis Fane bequeathed the house to his brother Thomas, 8th Earl of Westmorland. The house then descended in the family for the next 200 years, although sadly the archival records have been destroyed. The most notable incumbents of the house were the wife and daughter of the 10th Earl of Westmorland, Jane Saunders (d.1857) and her daughter Lady Georgina Fane (d. 1874). The latter famed for being forced by her father not to marry a lowly soldier - the soldier later turning into the 1st Duke of Wellington. The mother and daughter were also responsible for adding to Brympton’s collections of furniture and art. The bed was sold among the contents of the house in a five-day auction conducted by R. B. Taylor & Sons and John D. Wood & Co., 26 November-1 December 1956. Many significant paintings and furniture were dispersed in this sale.
The State bed can be confidently attributed to the workshop of Giles Grendey (d. 1780), cabinet-maker of St. John's Square, Clerkenwell, London. The stylized shell and acanthus-carved legs and hairy paw feet directly correspond to a bed attributed to Grendey and supplied to John Robinson-Lytton (1724-62) for Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, which was sold Christie's, London, Property of the Lady Cobbold, November 14, 1996, lot 36 (£65,300). This carving also corresponds to a suite of furniture thought to have been supplied by Grendey for the State apartments at Longford Castle, Wiltshire (Ralph Edwards and Margaret Jourdain, Georgian Cabinet-Makers, Country Life Ltd., London, rev.ed., 1955, fig. 48). The cabriole legs have the same solid quality with acanthus carved knees and large scrolled toes which correspond to another suite of seat furniture supplied by Grendey for Gunton Park (Christopher Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, W. S. Maney and Sons Limited, London, 1996, p. 243, fig. 437). The stylized pierced shells of the tester bear similarities to those on the backrests of a suite of chairs which Grendey supplied to Henry Hoare of Stourhead, Wiltshire between 1746 and 1752 (Percy Macquoid and Ralph Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, rev. ed. 1983, p. 275, fig. 154).
Remarkably, the chairs in this commission appear to be identical to the suite supplied by Grendey for Gunton Park which bear his label (C. Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, London, 1996, p. 243, fig. 437). In December 1931, R.W. Symonds refers to Grendey's chair design in an article where he states that although the cabinet-maker did not label all of his work, it is in the case of these distinctly carved legs that 'one might infer that all chairs and stools with this leg came from Grendey's workshop' (see R.W. Symonds, 'More about Labelled Furniture', The Connoisseur, December 1931, p.407, fig.VIII). Another element which secures the Grendey attribution is the commission of a set of dining chairs from nearby Hinton House for John, 1st Earl of Poulett (see E. Lennox-Boyd, ed., Masterpieces of English Furniture: The Gerstenfeld Collection, London, 1998, p.110, fig.85 and p.208, no.34). The houses of Hinton and Brympton d’Evercy were closely connected and it is likely that the Fane’s would have been aware of any work undertaken at Hinton.