A George II carved mahogany secrétaire cabinet, attributed to William Vile and John Cobb, circa 1755

the broken triangular pediment above a cavetto cornice and arched mirrored door enclosing one adjustable shelf flanked by fielded panels and egg and dart moulded doors, enclosing two further adjustable shelves each, separated by swagged pilasters with volute capitals, the base with a fitted secrétaire drawer flanked by cupboards with a Greek key frieze over four egg and dart moulded and fielded panelled doors on a plinth, with a later mirror plate and later Bramah locks, fitted between 1800 - 1813 as known by their markings J BRAMAH / 124 Piccadilly beneath a crown

Almost certainly supplied to Francis Seymour, 1^st Marquess of Hertford (1718-1794), for Ragley Hall, Warwickshire;
Thence by descent.

Ragley Hall, Warwickshire, The Home of the Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford, Country Life, 1-8 May 1958, pp. 938 - 941 & 1006 - 1009).
G C Tyack, Country House Building in Warwickshire, 1500-1914.
Desmond Fitz-Gerald Ed., Georgian Furniture, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1969, pl. 35.

A richly carved architectural cabinet on a grand scale. The urn stand to the pediment is probably later and there is a loss to the moulded edge to the right hand upper section of the broken pediment. There are some losses to the beaded moulding beneath the cavetto frieze, notably above the right corbel. There are minor losses and chips to the foliate carving surrounding the central mirror - which is later and has a small area of distress to the right hand side. The locks have been replaced throughout with Bramah locks. With a chalk inscription to the reverse 'From Hall' of both the upper and lower section and three canvas repairs. The lower section with a small loss to the right hand corner of the moulded edge. The fall front of the secretaire is bowed and therefore does not sit flush. One short drawer and the central long drawer are lacking to the interior of the secretaire. There are signs of scuffing, chips and minor patching to the foot of the plinth base as to be expected. The right hand return with a secure age crack and a small area of patching. Overall minor old marks and scratches commensurate with age and use.
"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."

Ragley Hall and the Undocumented Commission

Ragley Hall owes its origins to the 2nd Viscount Conway, Governor of three of the counties of Ulster in 1674 and one time Secretary of State to Charles II who commenced building 'the most ambitious house in late 17th century Warwickshire.....on a hilltop sight to "command the prospect", well away from the nearest village' (Tyack, op. cit.). On his death in 1683, the house was left an empty shell for more than fifty years until 1749 when Francis Seymour-Conway, 2nd Lord Conway of the second creation, and later Marquess of Hertford, decided to revive the interiors to match Horace Walpole’s comments of 1751 declaring that he was ‘much struck with Ragley, the situation is magnificent, the house far beyond anything I have seen’. (Ragley Hall, Country Life, op. cit.)

The 1^st Marquess of Hertford was a member of England’s most senior nobility and a man of ‘unblemished morals’ (Horace Walpole quoted in Debrett's Peerage, 1968, pp. 571, 1036). Having being created Earl of Hertford in 1750 Conway began a long and prosperous political career. Starting as Lord of the Bed Chamber to both George II and George III from 1751 to 1766 he quickly rose to become a Privy Councilor and Ambassador to Paris in 1763 – where he witnessed the last days of his close friend Madame de Pompadour. In 1765 he took his final and greatest political post as Viceroy of Ireland where as a conservative religious man he was well regarded and implemented an effective administration.

Running in tandem to the Earl’s political career was his artistic patronage. A fervent supporter of the arts the young Earl undertook the complete interior renovation of Ragley with considerable vigor and understanding. The main achievement of the 1750s was the decoration of the Great Hall to the designs of James Gibbs with superb plasterwork by Giuseppe Artari, who also appears to have worked on several other rooms at the same time. Following Gibbs’ death in 1754 the Marquess of Hertford continued his internal renovations of Ragley, conforming to the resurgent Palladian tastes which would eventually lead to the west side of the house being newly built under the direction of James Wyatt, the exuberance of the earlier rococo decoration being superseded by a more refined neo-classical style.

It was at this point in Ragley’s long history that the present lot most probably entered the collection. Various account books, detailing the Earl’s expenditure from 1755 - 1764, kept in the Warwick Record Office reveal a very interesting commission. Unfortunately the accounts do not detail exact pieces; however, numerous payments are made to a Mr. Vile Upholsterer from 1758 – 1762. On 25^th July 1758 the Earl paid £55 16s. to Vile this was followed by a payment on 6^th June 1759 of £350 5s (fig. 5) and a payment on 20^th March 1762 of £97 9s. (Hertford Papers, CR114A/201C). Given the quality of the furniture thought to have entered the collection between these dates, including the celebrated Ragley lacquer Commodes (also attributed to Vile and Cobb), it is highly likely that the Mr. Vile in question is William Vile (1700 – 1767) the partner of John Cobb (1710 – 1778). The steady flow of payments throughout these years and substantial total point to a sizeable commission from Vile and Cobb, in line with the then Earl of Hertford’s decoration.

Vile and Cobb

The partnership of William Vile and John Cobb was first listed in the London Directory in 1750 and continued with great success until 1764 when William Vile retired with John Cobb continuing to trade until 1778. William Vile is considered the principle cabinet-maker and business keeper of the two, while John Cobb is often seen as the primary designer. This arrangement was typical of the period for furniture makers. Contemporarily considered to be Thomas Chippendale's greatest rivals their work of the period is arguably some of the finest English made furniture produced in the mid-18th century, although having never produced a book of designs the firm does not have the same celebrity as Chippendale. Favoured by George III and Queen Charlotte, a great deal of their work was by Royal commission. Backed by the great cabinet-maker and later court gentleman William Hallett the pair were also patronised by a number of Hallett’s former clients including the Duke of Beaufort and the Earl of Leicester. Commissions are also recorded from the 2nd Duke of Cleveland of 19 St James’s Square, the 1st Lord Harrowby of Sandon Hall, the 6th Earl of Coventry of Croome Court, and Sir Lawrence Dundas of Moore Park, Arlington Street and Aske Hall. Vile’s name, together with his partner’s, was included in the Great Wardrobe accounts for the first time in the quarter ending Lady Day, 1761, the accounts for the period 1761-65 being filled with details of their work for King George III.

Although no published designs exist for the firm and they did not mark their furniture, known pieces produced by Vile & Cobb provide a visual guide to the characteristics they typically employed. The architectural form of this imposing yet refined secrétaire-cabinet is clearly imbued with the spirit of the architect, designer and influential tastemaker William Kent (c. 1685–1748). Straddling the divide between the heavy architectural style of Palladianism as executed by William Kent in the 1730s and 40s and the lighter and more feminine Rococo style of Thomas Chippendale gaining popularity in the 1750s, Vile and Cobb furniture is recognisable through its references to the popular styles of the time but also by its extraordinary quality.

The triangular segmented and cross banded veneers to the fall-front secrétaire and flanking cupboards in the present lot can be seen in a range of furniture attributed to Vile and Cobb. A cabinet on stand of similar scale in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, shows the same technique employed on its central panel (W. 75-1962). Whilst a small cabinet on stand attributed to Vile, possibly a medal cabinet, of quite diminutive scale has its entire front veneered in this manner (now in the Art Institute of Chicago (1993.155)). The carved pilasters headed by corbels are also symptomatic of Vile and Cobb’s output. Inspired by the work of William Kent, as seen in a similar cabinet formerly in the collection of The Dukes of Northumberland of more austere form (fig. 3), Vile and Cobb used the Romanesque form and decoration to ground their work in the neo-Palladian style which was coming back into fashion, especially in this commission as a pre-cursor to Wyatt’s neo-Palladian extensions at Ragley. This decorative motif can further be seen in a large bookcase (fig. 4.) attributed to Vile and Cobb (sold, Sotheby’s, New York, 5 April 2007, lot 160) as well as an organ cabinet in the Royal Collection originally executed by Benjamin Goodison and re-designed by Vile in the early 1760s (RCIN 1366).

However, the most pertinent comparison to the present lot is one of strikingly similar form and execution formerly in the collection of Sir William Beauchamp-Proctor at Langley Park, Norfolk (fig. 4). Previously thought to be by Thomas Chippendale in 1994 (sold Sotheby’s, New York, 1994, lot 44) it bears identical segmented veneers to the fall front of the secretaire and very similar carved floral swag decoration. Archival research at the Norfolk record office has uncovered that both William Hallet and Vile and Cobb worked at Langley Park for the Beauchamp-Proctors (BEA 305/71). The link between the two cabinet making firms has been established above and Vile and Cobb often continued to work for clients that William Hallet formerly supplied furniture to. The bills paid to Mr Vile are in 1754, just pre-dating the commission at Ragley. One can suggest that it was at commissions such as Langley Park that Vile and Cobb began to perfect their own identity and style - which can be seen in the present lot.