View full screen - View 1 of Lot 59. A Louis XVI gilt bronze mounted amaranth, tulipwood, kingwood and holly banded table à ouvrage circa 1765-70, in the manner of Philippe-Claude Montigny and René Dubois.

Property from an Important Private Collection (Lots 56-70)

A Louis XVI gilt bronze mounted amaranth, tulipwood, kingwood and holly banded table à ouvrage circa 1765-70, in the manner of Philippe-Claude Montigny and René Dubois

Auction Closed

May 22, 05:01 PM GMT

Estimate

12,000 - 18,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

the hinged top enclosing a well above a frieze and a side drawer, with a label to the underside reading 'Inventory 1838', some mounts later


72cm high, 49cm wide, 40.5cm deep; 28 1/2in., 19 1/4in., 16 in.

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Possibly supplied to Arthur Hill-Trevor, 2nd Viscount Dungannon (1763-1837) or acquired by Arthur Hill-Trevor, 3rd Viscount Dungannon (1798 – 1862) for 3 Grafton Street, London;

Moved to Brynkinalt Hall, Denbighshire before 1838 and thence by descent;

Sotheby's, London, Of Royal And Noble Descent, 19 January 2017, lot 381.

This table, emblematic of the goût 'à la grec' prevalent in the 1760s, reflects the elegance and sophistication of the period, with the cousins Philippe-Claude Montigny and René Dubois at the forefront of this style.


The design for this type of small table derives from the iconic bureaux plats characteristic of Montigny featuring: a frieze decorated with greek key, rosettes or vitruvian scrolls, flanked at corners by roundels or rosettes, resting on four tapered legs headed by mounts in the shape of garlands. These bureaux à la grec often incorporated a pull-out writing surfaces to the side. Related bureaux and small tables stamped by Montigny are recorded:


  • a small table with a hinged top and side drawer, Greek key marquetry and garland mounts, formerly in a grand Belgian collection was sold Sotheby’s, Monaco, 18 June 1989, lot 862;
  • a small table with some mounts either re-gilt or replaced, sold at Christie's, New York, 16 October 2019, lot 538;
  • a bureau with similar marquetry but different escutcheons and corner mounts is in the Musée Cognacq-Jay in Paris (inv. no. J361);
  • a bureau with different escutcheons and corner mounts from the collection of Lord & Lady Weinstock sold at Christie's, London, 22 November 2022 (£453,600);
  • a bureau plat supplied to the 6th Earl of Coventry on 12 March 1765 by the marchand-mercier Simon-Philippe Poirier and invoiced as 'un Bureau à la Grec, de 4 pieds et demi de long par 32 pouces de large, orné de bronzes dorés d'or moulu, du bois rose et amaranthe, le filet ..[?] avec deux tablettes qui se tirent[?] sur les côtes couvre de Mariquine...[?]...que les tablettes...420', currently preserved at Croome Court, Worcestershire (NT 170981).


A virtually identical table attributed to Montigny was sold at Christie’s, Monaco, 17 June 2000, lot 257.


Related examples all with the grotesque mask mount and stamped by René Dubois, Montigny's cousin, with whom he often collaborated, include:

  • a bureau featuring similar mask mounts sold at Sotheby's, Monaco, 4 March 1984, lot 482
  • a bureau sold at Sotheby's, New York, 21 May 1992, lot 103;
  • a bureau in the collections of the Marquesses of Bute at Mount Stuart, Scotland.


With the influence of French neoclassicism imported into England, it is not a surprise the famous models by Montigny and Dubois were particularly favoured by English collectors and both English and émigré cabinetmakers working in London. Related examples considered by some of English manufacture include a bureau plat from the collections of the Hill-Trevors at Brynkinalt Hall (sold at Sotheby's, London, 19 January 2017, lot 382) and a bureau plat in the collection of the Dukes of Richmond at Goodwood, West Sussex sharing the same grotesque escutcheons.


The Hill-Trevor family and Brynkinalt Hall

This table once belonged to the Hill-Trevor family, long established at Brynkinalt Hall in Denbighshire, near the English-Welsh border. The family’s wealth can be traced back to Sir John Trevor (1637–1717), a shrewd and politically ambitious lawyer who rose to prominence as Speaker of the House of Commons—twice—before being removed from office due to a bribery scandal involving the East India Company. He also held the role of Master of the Rolls from 1685 to 1689 and again from 1693 until his death. His substantial earnings from these influential posts enabled him to purchase two London residences—one on St. Clements Lane and another in Trevor Square, Knightsbridge. With all four of his sons dying before him, his estate, including Brynkinalt, passed to his daughter Anne, who married Michael Hill of Hillsborough, Ireland.


Their second son, Arthur Hill (1694–1771), later known as Arthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon, followed a political path of his own in Ireland, where he served as Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer and Commissioner of Irish Revenues. Around 1750, he commissioned the construction of Belvoir House, designed by Christopher Myers. However, his son, the Hon. Arthur Hill Trevor (1738–1770), died before him, meaning the table in question was likely not acquired during his lifetime.


Instead, the estate—including both Brynkinalt and Belvoir—passed to Arthur Hill-Trevor, 2nd Viscount Dungannon (1763–1837), who inherited the title at just eight years old. In 1795, he married the Hon. Charlotte FitzRoy, daughter of General Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton, and granddaughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton. Around this time, he sold Belvoir Park and divided his time between Brynkinalt Hall and No. 3 Grafton Street in London, a residence built in 1767 by Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, to designs by Robert Taylor. It’s plausible that the table entered the family’s collection during this era, particularly as the Viscountess was known for her refined taste and played a central role in updating Brynkinalt, which had remained largely untouched since the early 1700s.


Another possible origin for the table's acquisition is during the tenure of Arthur Hill-Trevor, 3rd Viscount Dungannon (1798–1862), who inherited the title in 1837. A cultured and well-travelled man, he embarked on a Grand Tour in the 1810s and married Sophia Irvine in 1819, later inheriting lands near Whittlebury in Northamptonshire. A member of the Society of Antiquaries and a known Francophile, the 3rd Viscount would have been well-placed to acquire such a French piece during the second quarter of the 19th century, a time when French decorative arts were once again in vogue.

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