A GEORGE III REVIVAL GILTWOOD OVERMANTEL MIRROR AND CLOCK AFTER A DESIGN BY THOMAS JOHNSON, SECOND HALF 19TH CENTURY

Charles Scarlett Jr., Whitehall, Annapolis

Helena Hayward, Thomas Johnson and English Rococo, London 1964

This impressive overmantel mirror is closely based on a design by the London woodcarver, engraver and furniture maker Thomas Johnson, first published in 1758 and subsequently in 1761 as plate 13 of the volume One Hundred and Fifty New Designs. Johnson (1714-1778) was one of the leading proponents of the French-inspired Rococo taste in English decorative arts during the 1750s along with Matthias Lock and Thomas Chippendale, though his work was generally more asymmetrical and fanciful with a greater range of decorative motifs, described by Hayward as ‘the most vigorous and mature expression’ of the rococo style in English furniture.

The present lot follows Johnson’s scheme [Fig. 1] with almost literal precision. The only major modifications are the absence of candle nozzles and the substitution of Chinese figures for the two women harvesting in the original design - suggesting this overmantel may have been intended for a room with Chinese wallpaper or other Chinoiserie-inspired decoration. A revival of interest in the English rococo began in the 1830s, and many of Johnson’s designs were re-published (as Chippendale) by John Weale in 1834, and again in 1846 and 1858.

Whitehall was built for the last governor of the colony of Maryland, Horatio Sharpe, on the Chesapeake Bay east of Annapolis starting in 1763-69, with parkland designed by Capability Brown. Sharpe had little time to enjoy his new house, as he went to London on family business in 1773 and was prevented from returning by the Revolution. The house was sold to Sharpe's former secretary and rival in love John Ridout (Ridout had married Sharpe's intended bride), and remained in the Ridout family until 1895. It then passed through a succession of owners until acquired by the Baltimore businessman Charles Scarlett Jr. in 1946, who completely restored the property and furnished the interiors with historically appropriate fine and decorative arts. The estate is now managed by a foundation with the mission of preserving the house and grounds and supporting educational and conservation initiatives.