3 Mar 2010
14:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street
Fine English Furniture and Works of Art
Back to auction 17805
Fine English Furniture and Works of Art
Back to auction 17805
A late George III papier mache polychrome decorated and parcel gilt Vase and Cover
decorated in the Chinoiserie style
on a dark blue ground, the domed lid above a baluster shaped body decorated with figures blowing bubbles from pipes under a canopy, the reverse decorated with figures fishing while seated on the bough of a tree under a parasol, on a stepped base, 12cm wide, 12cm deep, 31.5cm high (4.5" wide, 4.5" deep, 12" high).
on a dark blue ground, the domed lid above a baluster shaped body decorated with figures blowing bubbles from pipes under a canopy, the reverse decorated with figures fishing while seated on the bough of a tree under a parasol, on a stepped base, 12cm wide, 12cm deep, 31.5cm high (4.5" wide, 4.5" deep, 12" high).
Sold for
£3,360
inc. premium
Footnotes
- The relatively thin section of this papier mâché urn/vase, its stabilising square-stepped foot, and its fine chinoiserie decoration in the style of Jean-Baptiste Pillement, show it to be an extremely early example of its type (cf. the later, and much thicker, vases with internally weighted bases, made by Jennens & Bettridge, and others, in the 1840s).
Until recently, the vase was part of a small collection of japanned papier mâché and tinware, begun by Obadiah Ryton (c1771-1818) and/or his brother William Lott Ryton (1773-1847) second generation proprietors of the Old Hall Japan Works in Wolverhampton, from c1790-1818/20 - and added to during the next partnership of Ryton & Walton (c1820-1842), whose mark is sometimes found on good quality papier mâché goods. It then passed by descent within the Ryton family. However, this is insufficient evidence upon which to attribute it to either partnership for the collection appears to have included examples from elsewhere perhaps as models for copying.
George Dickinson in his book English Papier Mâché (1925) tells how the Old Hall copied the work of Joseph Booth, a decorator widely admired throughout the trade for his skill in Chinese and Japanese styles of decoration. In 1835, for example, having worked for Jennens & Bettridge, in nearby Birmingham, for fourteen years, Booth attempted to sell a tray, probably as a pattern, to Ryton & Walton. They asked him to leave it with them for consideration, quickly had one of their decorators copy it, returned the tray to Booth on the grounds that it was too expensive, and then hung the copy in their warehouse as an example of their fine workmanship.
Thus, in spite of its provenance, and without a mark, this exquisite specimen must remain sadly unattributable at least, for the time being.
Our thanks to Yvonne Jones for this catalogue note; her definitive book Japanned Papier Mâché and Tinware c1740-1940, is scheduled to be published by the Antique Collectors' Club this year.
Auction Notices
- Revised Estimate £400-600
Category: Furniture / Fine Furniture and Works of Art
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