A George III mahogany, padouk and marquetry bookcase, circa 1770, attributed to John Linnell
Lot Closed
April 29, 03:08 PM GMT
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
A George III mahogany, padouk and marquetry bookcase
circa 1770, attributed to John Linnell
the upper section with a shaped top surmounted with a carved boxwood rocaille cresting above a leaf carved moulding, the glazed cupboard doors with carved acanthus mouldings to corners opening to reveal two adjustable shelves with chequerbanded decoration to edges above two short drawers, the lower section with two short drawers to concave frieze and carved c-scroll mouldings above two cupboard doors with ivory escutcheons and flamed specimen padouk panels centred with marquetry quatrefoil within an ebony guilloche border and oval moulding with foliate clasps and chequerbanding, the interior with two short drawers and removeable shelf, on rocaille carved bracket feet
175cm. high, 84cm. wide, 42cm. deep; 5ft. 9in., 2ft. 9in., 1ft. 4½in.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
Maurice Tomlin, Catalogue of Adam Period Furniture, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1982, p. 114-115;
H. Hayward and P. Kirkham, William and John Linnell, Eighteenth Century London Furniture Makers, Vol. II, London, 1980, p. 10-11, figs. 16-18.
The present bookcase can be firmly attributed to the cabinet-maker, upholsterer and carver, John Linnell (1729–1796). The son of the eminent cabinet-maker William Linnell (1703–1763), John joined the family firm in the late 1740s, inheriting the business and its premises at 28 Berkeley Square in 1763. His talent for design is apparent through the large number of surviving drawings, many of which are housed in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the realisation of the design for this bookcase bears testament to the standing of his workshop.
The form closely follows a drawing in pen and ink wash by Linnell from circa 1765 that employs a distinctive oval moulding to frame the stylised marquetry quatrefoil, something of a leitmotif associated with Linnell’s designs from this period (V&A E. 291 1929 and illustrated above). Although wholly English in character, the influence of French decorative arts is evident, and the bookcase incorporates the carved rococo flourishes so firmly associated with the Linnell’s mid-18th century oeuvre. However, the rococo tradition was in decline, and this bookcase represents a transitional period in Linnell’s output as he developed his interest in classicism. The treatment of the medallions of paduok is distinctly ‘Roman’, inlaid with a band of interlocking guilloche in ebony, and heralds the emergence of neoclassicism which rose to prominence under the aegis of architect-designers such as William Chambers, James Stuart and Robert Adam.
For two closely related bookcases, see those illustrated in Helena Hayward and Pat Kirkham’s monograph on the Linnells (op. cit., p. 11, figs. 17-18).