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This item WAS NOT SOLD. Auction date was 2002 Jun 04 @ 11:00UTC-08:00 : PST/AKDT
A GEORGE III WHITE MARBLE CHIMNEYPIECE Designed by Robert Adam and possibly carved by John Deval for Sackville Tufton, 8th Earl of Thanet's house, 19 Grosvenor Square, London, circa 1764 The rectangular top with notched corners and double ogee- molded acanthus cornice above a frieze centered by an oblong tablet with a classical urn with scrolling acanthus leaves and centered on a pair of floral rosettes, flanked by addorsed eagles on a stepped breakfront plinth, the eagles, in profile, grasping ribbon tied chains of garrayah husks in their beaks, punctuated by rim molded leaf paterae, flanked to each side by paired panels decorated with classical torchères, on triangular plinths on ball feet and decorated acanthus leaves and hung with swags of husks, flanked by peltoid shields on crossed spears with lion headed sabres, the molded architrave with enclosed guilloche each centered by five varying floral rosettes between compound moldings with leaves to the outside and beads and reels to the inside, the aperture with egg and dart molding, the jambs decorated on the fascias with interlaced graduated husk work filled with harebells issuing from a half fan patera with seven tipped acanthus leaves below and terminating in ribbon tied bows above festoons of flowerheads raised on plain stepped back plinths and headed by raised, rimmed and leaf filled paterae laid over crossed spears and sabres 64 x 81 x 9 in. 164 x 206 x 23 cm - $180,000-220,000 PROVENANCE Sackville Tufton (1733-86), 8th Earl of Thanet, 19 Grosvenor Square, London Literature Bolton, Arthur T. "Town Houses of the 18th Century. No 19, Grosvenor Square-I", Country Life Vol. 45 (March 1st 1919), pp. 239-40. Bolton, Arthur T. "Town Houses of the 18th Century. No 19, Grosvenor Square-I", Country Life Vol. 45 (March 1st 1919), pp. 267-68. THE PROVENANCE AND THE ADAM designs Robert Adam's work at 19 Grosvenor Square for the 8th Earl of Thanet is recorded within the surviving Adam Drawings at the Sir John Soane Museum. These drawings date to 1764-65 and include two designs for Ceilings, Friezes and Chimney-pieces as well as Mirrors and Girandoles and one drawing for an undated Silver Candlestick. Regrettably the surviving drawings do not include a design for this chimney-piece. However Adam's work can be substantiated in part payments to 'Mr Adam' in the 8th Earl of Thanet's (1773-86) account at Hoare's Bank, totalling £1,240 14s and 10_ d between June 1765 and February 1766 (Reel 117-Ledger B 4 of 8-237 1760-1765 1021 & Reel 119 Ledger 5 of 8-297 1765-1769 1038, p254 & 256) and in part to the surviving Country Life illustrations of the interior of the property in 1919 by the then expert on Adam and curator of the Sir John Soane's Museum, Arthur T. Bolton. The chimney-piece was then still located in the Dome Rome. Further evidence of the chimney-piece being designed by Adam can be found in three chimney-pieces known to have been designed by Adam and two drawings by him. The chimney-pieces were made for the ground floor front room of No. 5 Adelphi Terrace, London (David Garrick's house erected 1768-72 and demolished in 1936), although it has a marginally different architrave and shelf mold, the hall at Newby Hall, Yorkshire (1767 onwards) (Arthur T. Bolton, The Architecture of Robert and James Adam. Repr. Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1984, p. 136, ill.), which incorporates closely related if not identical side panels, and the state bed-room at Cobham Hall in Kent, which incorporates a closely related center tablet and jamb panels, but differently treated blocking, side panels and architrave. The two related drawings are for the chimney-piece for the drawing-room at the Earl of Coventry's house at Piccadilly (1764) (Sir John Soane's Museum Vol. 22-67), which is closely related to that made for the Earl of Thanet and for the chimney-piece for the eating parlour of Headfort #House, fig 1 (previous page) 19 Grovesnor Square (courtesy country life) fig 2 (below) detail of the present lot fig 3&4 (next page) the cHimney piece in situ in the dome room at 19 grovesnor Square (courtesy country life) an identical architrave and blocking treatment, whilst the tablet is ornamented with a closely related addorsed eagles and urn relief, but incorporates related Torcheres on pedestals with swags of husks on the tablet rather that the side panels as seen at 19 Grosvenor Square, No 5 Adelphi Terrace and Newby Hall. ROBERT ADAM Robert Adam (1728-92) was born at Kirkcaldy in Fife, the second surviving son of William Adam (1689-1748), the leading Scottish architect of his day. Adam was educated at Edinburgh High School and University. Following his father's death, the brothers John (1721-1792) and James (1732-1794) continued the business until 1754. Robert Adam was prosperous enough to set out on an architectural grand tour with an aristocratic companion, The Hon. Charles Hope. In Rome Adam devoted himself to the study of antiquity under the guidance of Charles Louis Clerisseau, visiting both Naples and Herculaneum. He formed a close friendship with Giovanni Piranesi (1720-78), whose Antichita Romane (1756), incorporated a laudatory mock tomb to Adam. On his return from Italy in January 1758, Adam lived in Lower Grosvenor street, leading out of the square where he would work for the 8th Earl of Thanet six years later. THE INFLUENCES AND DECORATIVE SOURCES ROBERT ADAM The influence of Giovanni Battista Piranesi on Robert Adam (Damie Stillman, "Robert Adam and Piranesi", Essays in the History of Architecture presented to Rudolf Wittkower. Eds. D. Fraser, H. Hibbard & M.J. Lewine. London, 1967, pp. 197-206) following his return from Italy, was substantial, particularly in the decoration of the chimney-pieces (Diverse Maniere d'adornare I cammini). Adam forged a close friendship with Piranesi which is reflected in Piranesi's dedication to Adam in Campo Marzio, a series of archaeological works. Stillman remarks 'Though the two men complimented and praised each other all through this period, the artistic influence was largely one-sided for Piranesi supplied the only major new source for the Adam's style after its maturation in the mid 1760's.' It has been suggested that plates illustrating chimney-piece designs were circulating by 1767, and design development as early as 1764. However the appearance of the present chimney-piece suggests that plates may have been available as early as 1764. Adam did not directly copy Piranesi's designs, but was awakened to new possibilities by them and tended to take elements of design and substantially modify them, as is the case of the Earl of Thanet's chimney-piece. Piranesi's plate 20 illustrates a design for a chimney-piece which incorporates elements in the frieze which must surely have provided the source for Adam's frieze. These elements include affronted pairs of Griffins backing onto central urns, and to the centre, a candelabra on pedestal from which hang floral garlands. Adam has clearly modified the Griffins into Eagles, enlarged the urn and added closely related Candelabra to form the frieze sections. The chimney-piece also incorporates much of the ornamental elements so favored by Adam. Of particular note are the Peltoid shield decorations to the frieze side panels, and the oval paterae, both of which incorporate military trophies in the from of an arrow and lion-headed sword. These decorative motif were extensively used by Adam for a variety of decorations, most notably at Syon House,where more elaborate military trophies are incorporated into wall decorations of the Hall and Peltoid shields with crossed sword and quiver decoration to the side panels in the frieze of the chimney-piece in the Ante-room. CRAFTSMEN Who carved the chimney-piece is unclear, for the only specific reference to known chimney-piece carvers within the Earl's accounts, post 1764 is an entry on the 22nd June 'To Mr Duval for £434: 14s'. This may perhaps refer to the renowned masons John Deval Senior (1701-74) and junior (1728-94). Both men are known to have worked for Adam producing chimney-pieces, including examples for Sir Roland Winn at Nostell Priory in 1767 and two for Lord Coventry, one for Coventry House Piccadilly in 1766, depicting Cupid & Psyche at a cost of £240 and another one year later at a cost of £136.6s 9d. (Gunnis Manuscripts).
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