A GEORGE IV GILTWOOD OVERMANTLE MIRROR BY WILLIAM CRIBB, SECOND QUARTER 19TH CENTURY, IN THE MANNER OF WILLIAM KENT

This mirror is part of a group of Kentian revival pieces by William Cribb. Between 1812 an 1820 his company was based on Tavistock Street until relocating to 34, King Street, Convent Garden (as the stencil appears on the current lot). The labels during this period are sometimes longer than that here and printed or stenciled  'W. Cribb, / CARVER, GILDER, / Looking Glass / Manufacturer & / PRINTSELLER. / No. 34, King Street, / Covent Garden, / Prints, Drwings, &c. Framed & Glazed. / NB. Orders for Exportation executed and punctuality, & dispatch. / Pictures Clean'd - Lined and Repaired'. See C. Gilbert, ed., Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, Leeds, 1996, p.24, p.165, figs.258-259.

The mask on this piece recalls the work of William Kent (see the mask on the central tablet of a chimneypiece by him from Devonshire House, see Chatsworth, The Attic Sale, 5-7 October 2010, lot 109) but perhaps more interestingly three spectacular Kentian revival tables at Chatsworth, one of which is signed 'W. Cribb. Fecit 1834'. Undoubtedly a commission for William Cavendish the 6th Duke of Devonshire, who had a large collection of 18th century furniture by Kent, much of which came from Devonshire House. The State Rooms of which he re-decorated in this Kentian revivalist style were filled with architectural fittings and furnishings in a re-interpretation of the style in which the great house was originally decorated. Cribb would have been exposed to the Duke's large collection of period pieces (and possibly drawings by Kent in the Duke's collection) and not doubt drew on them as a source of inspiration. For comparison also see a table by William Cribb formerly in the Collection of Mark Birley, these rooms, 21 March 2013, lot 164 again with an extravagant female mask.