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A GEORGE II GREY-VEINED WHITE MARBLE MANTLEPIECE Designed by Sir William Chambers and probably ca...

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:150,000.00 - 200,000.00 USD
A GEORGE II GREY-VEINED WHITE MARBLE MANTLEPIECE Designed by Sir William Chambers and probably ca...
A GEORGE II GREY-VEINED WHITE MARBLE MANTLEPIECE Designed by Sir William Chambers and probably carved by Sefferin Alken for Thomas Brand at The Hoo, Kimpton, Hertfordshire, circa 1762-64 The breakfront rectangular cornice above a meander frieze centered by a rectangular tablet with a cabochon rocaille and c-scroll cartouche flanked by scrolling acanthus and panels each with a seeded acanthus patera, further flanked by three seeded scrolled acanthus pendants, the stepped ogee molded jambs with acanthus-sheathed volute decoration, on conforming plinth bases 713/4 x 973/4 x 18 in. 182 x 246.5 x 46 cm - $150,000-200,000 Sir William Chambers (1723-96) Born in Gothenburg, Sweden, the son of a Scottish merchant, Chambers was educated in Yorkshire before entering the Swedish East India Company in 1739. In 1749, after three voyages on which he gained direct knowledge of Chinese design, he left the service and moved to England where he probably met Frederick, Prince of Wales. Following studies at the E_ole des Arts under Jaques-François Blondel, he travelled to Rome to complete his education. In London he published Designs of Chinese Buildings, Furniture, Dresses, Machines and Utensils in 1757 dedicated to The Prince of Wales, to whom he became architectural tutor. In the same year he began work on embellishing Kew Gardens for Prince Augusta. His official career commenced as architect of the works in 1761 and culminated in his appointment as Surveyor General in 1782. The Hoo William Chambers began working at The Hoo at the latest in 1762 because in July of 1764 Thomas Brand, the owner, was writing to Chambers about an already completed gate and about the cost of building a mosque like the one at Kew. One of the most interesting aspects of Chambers' work at The Hoo is his deliberate use of old-fashioned motifs; this can be explained by the fact that the existing house was built during the Protectorate in an artisan mannerism style. The Royal Institute of British Architects album contains Chambers' designs for ceilings and bookcases, a bridge and a temple by a bridge; a dairy a boathouse and stables. He also supplied chimneypieces; the Hall Chimneypiece was sold when the house was demolished in 1957. 'Vitruvicis Brittannicus', 1769, records topographical views as well as a few fragments of the house itself, by Dawson drawn in 1746. Sefferin Alken (act. 1744-83) Alken, master carver in both wood and stone worked from St. James's Westminster, but from 1760 he is recorded at Dufor's Court, Broad Street, Golden Square. In 1746 he took an apprentice, probably Richard Lawrence, who may subsequently have become his partner as in 1763 the business is referred to as Alken & Lawrence. The Sir John Soane Museum has a design for a chimneypiece for The Hoo, inscribed by Chambers 'Thacker and the carving very well done by Alken'.