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A WILLIAM IV GOLD-PAINTED SIX-LIGHT GASOLIER, attributed to WILLIAM COLLINS, circa 1835, the foliate

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A WILLIAM IV GOLD-PAINTED SIX-LIGHT GASOLIER, attributed to WILLIAM COLLINS, circa 1835, the foliate
A WILLIAM IV GOLD-PAINTED SIX-LIGHT GASOLIER, attributed to WILLIAM COLLINS, circa 1835, the foliate rose in the form of a foliate corona and single chain above an ogee-arcaded domed canopy issuing six foliate chains going to scrolling branches, flanked by a two-handled urn with satyr-masks with large Grecian lappets issuing the light fittings, with berried pendant boss and ring terminal, the gasolier fittings stamped 'Keith's Patent Pilot', later gold painted over a lacquered-brass surface
83.75cms diameter.
e10,000/15,000
LITERATURE: J.Gore-Booth, 'Lissadell', Irish Arts Review, Summer 2003, p.117 ( illustrated in situ)

Lissadell was the first house in Ireland to be lit by gas and the remarkable suite of 'Grecian' gasoliers that were acquired for the Gallery, Ante Room, Bow Room, Dining Room and Staircase Hall during the 1830's were all almost certainly executed by the same firm (see lots 113, 114, 187, 229, 426 and 435).
These magnificent gasoliers do not, however, appear in Francis Goodwin's watercolour view of the Gallery published
as the Frontispiece of his Domestic Architecture, 1833-34, so these -and indeed all of the Lissadell gasolier/ chandeliers
- must have been introduced sometime thereafter.
Displaying an almost signature 'matt' Grecian gilding, the most likely author for the group is William Collins, one of the most ambitious chandelier and lamp-makers of the Regency period. Established at 227 The Strand between 1808-1852 and frequently working to designs by the architect J.B. Papworth, Collins supplied chandeliers and light-fittings to the Court and aristocracy, arguably his most expensive commissions being those supplied to the Duke of Northumberland:- '1823 May '23 4 Superb Chandeliers executed in Grecian Metal in the Drawing Room, Saloon, Anti Room and Grand Staircase 2700.0.0.' (Northumberland Archives at Alnwick Castle (U.111.8d). This enormous sum probably reflects the considerable expenditure of Sir Robert on the Lissadell gasoliers.
This same lotus-leaf base on the Lissadell gasolier can be seen on the hanging lamp probably supplied by Collins for the Bay Window in the Dining Room at Burton Constable, Yorkshire during the 1830's - where he is known to have charged £60 for the Hall Lantern and Hanging Lamps in the Gallery in 1832 ('Country house Lighting', Exhibition Catalogue', Leeds, 1992, no.69 (Illustrated). It is interesting to note, therefore, that a related design for a 3 foot diameter Hanging Lamp, signed 'W. Collins No. 5', remains in the collection of Leeds City Art Gallery and the Burton Constable Foundation (op.cit., no.68). As the exhibition catalogue comments, the designs' 'curious juxtaposition of Rococo revival and classical ornament' - as is also seen on the Lissadell Drawing Room gasolier - indicates the 'carefree interchange of parts which characterises metal lamps of this period. This however would not have been tolerated by one of the great chandelier and lamp designers of this period, J.B. Papworth, whose style is consistently classical'.
The Bow Room chandelier displays the same ogee-arcaded domed canopy as the Gallery, Ante Room, Staircase Hall and Dining Room gasoliers, although its 'antiquarian' Louis XIV foliate suspension chains only appear on the latter two, as well as on the gasolier in the Drawing Room.
A related Irish urn-capped chandelier was sold anonymously at Christie's London, 12 February 1998, lot 367 (£28,750).

NOTE: To be removed at the purchasers risk and expense before delivery deadline expires