Bonhams 1793 : A William IV tulipwood, kingwood and gilt-brass mounted bureau plat in the manner of Town and Emanuel

in the manner of Town and Emanuel
The serpentine banded top retaining the original tooled leather inset with a gadrooned edge and mask decorated corner mounts, the shaped frieze with three real drawers opposed by corresponding dummy drawers, the sides applied with rococo mounts, on cabriole legs ending in sabots, 128cm wide, 69cm deep, 76cm high (50" wide, 27" deep, 29.5" high).

Sold for £5,000 inc. premium

Footnotes

A closely related bureau plat by Town and Emanuel and dating to 1836 was supplied to the 2nd Marquess of Exeter for the Blue Drawing Room at Burghley, Cambridgeshire and is illustrated in the Journal of the Furniture History Society, 1996, F.Collard, Town and Emanuel, P.86, fig.6.

Town & Emanuel are listed at 103 New Bond Street between 1830 and 1840, see G. Beard & C. Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers (1660-1840), p.900. Town and Emmanuel were one of the first recorded firms to deal in what they referred to as 'curiosities' and 'antiques' rather than treating it as second hand furniture. Both Edward Holmes Baldock and John Webb seem to have engaged in similar activities. When the firm ceased trading in 1849, a large dispersal sale was held by Christie's. Examples of their work are illustrated in C. Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, London, 1997, pages 449-454.

Category: Furniture / English Furniture and Works of Art

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