Bonhams 1793 : A mid 19th century mahogany demi-lune display cabinet the leopard gilt finial carved by Thomas Ferrand of York

6 Mar 2013 14:00 GMT London, New Bond Street
Fine English Furniture
Back to auction 20741

A mid 19th century mahogany demi-lune display cabinet

the leopard gilt finial carved by Thomas Ferrand of York
The domed glazed faceted top surmounted by a gilt carved heraldic collared leopard facing left, above a curved moulded frieze surmounted by four classical urn finials and a pair of bowed Gothick arched astragal glazed and mirrored doors and sides enclosing three tierd demi-lune shelves on ring turned supports, above a pair of rectangular panelled doors and slides on a plinth moulded base, labelled to the underside of the finial, 'THOMAS FERRAND, Carver, Gilder and Frame Maker, Opposite the George Inn, Coney Street, York', 139cm wide, 43cm deep, 200cm high (54.5" wide, 16.5" deep, 78.5" high).

Sold for £6,875 inc. premium

Footnotes

Provenance: Bidfield Hall, Northumberland, in the late 19th century with the Pumphrey family. The Pumphrey family rented Bidfield Hall from the Middletons of Belsay.

Thomas Ferrand (1786-1852) was the son of the York based plane maker William Ferrand and was admitted freeman in 1809. He was recorded as being in partnership with William Dodgson in 1814. Ferrand's trade label is recorded on a painted satinwood cabinet, see G Beard and C Gilbert, The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, 1986, p.297.

The above cabinet seems to be a virtual copy of the cabinet illustrated in R. Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture,(1924-7), fig.77, which is from the collection at Chequers, Buckinghamshire. The cabinet illustrated in Edwards is included as item 206 in the 1923 catalogue of the Principal Works of Art at Chequers. Prior to Chequers being given to the nation in 1917 it was owned by Lord Lee who acquired the house in 1909. The cabinet appears in the 1909 post-acquisition photograph of the White Parlour, but it is not known if the Lees acquired it with the house. Chequers was largely furnished by the Lees who purchased the majority of the furniture at auction.

Another model was recorded at one point as being with the firm of Lenygon and Morant who were amongst the most fashionable decorators in the early 20th century. The suspected pair to the Lenygon and Morant example was acquired by C.Ledyard Blair for Blairsden, Peapack, New Jersey and was sold Christies, New York, 7 June 2012, lot 341 ($25,000 inc premium). This was catalogued as a late 19th/early 20th century rosewood example, here it was suggested that the leopard crest may be that of the Harvey family, including the Hervey branch, Marquesses of Bristol at Ickworth, Suffolk. It was at Ickworth that the cabinet-makers Taprell & Holland and Banting & France were working during the early 19th century, who were capable of producing such a model of display cabinet for the 1st Marquess and 5th Earl of Bristol.

An example identical to the Chequers cabinet, but dated circa 1810 was sold at Sotheby's London, 29 November 2000, lot 59.

Category: Furniture / English Furniture and Works of Art

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