Sale
16889 - Fine Continental Furniture, Sculpture & Works of Art, 25 Nov 2009
New Bond Street
***Collection & Shipment - All lots will be retained at Bonhams, New Bond Street until 5pm, Wednesday 25th November 2009. Sold lots not collected by then will be removed to Bonhams White City Warehouse at: 2 Relay Road, White City, London, W12 7SJ, Tel: +44 (0) 87 0811 3867, Hours of opening 9.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday. All lots removed on 25th November 2009 to Bonhams warehouse will be available for collection from 9.30am, Friday 27th November 2009. These lots will be subject to transfer and storage charges if they are not collected within the period outlined below. Lots may be released from Bonhams warehouse on production of the Collection Order obtained from cashier's office at Bonhams, Knightsbridge or New Bond Street and a form of photographic ID. If a third party is collecting on behalf of a client, the third party must produce a letter of authority from the buyer and photographic from of ID*** Handling & Storage Charges – For sold lots removed to Bonhams Warehouse there will be no storage charges for lots collected between Friday 27th November 2009 and close of business on Friday 11th December 2009. Transfer and storage charges will commence on Monday 14th December 2009 and will be applicable for each working day. The charges levied by Bonhams are as follows: Furniture, large paintings and large objects: Transfer per lot £35 plus VAT, daily storage per lot £3.60 plus VAT, Paintings and objects: Transfer per lot £20 plus VAT, daily storage per lot £1.90 plus VAT.*** Please see catalogue for further details
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Lot No: 153Y
An important American late 19th century ormolu and porcelain-mounted, parcel-gilt, rosewood, tulipwood, sycamore, ebony, ebonised and marquetry upright piano
by Steinway and Sons, index number 32260, New York, the cabinet work by E.W. Hutchings and Son, the painted porcelain plaques by A. Deligny, circa 1875
the rectangular top surmounted by a three-quarter gallery with volutes, centred by a waisted rectangular box centred by a profile portrait of a lady, above a hinged lid with egg and dart surround, the fret carved front mounted with three porcelain medallions depicting young maidens and cherubs, the central panel signed A.Deligny, flanked by inlaid panels of urns issuing scrolling foliage and palmettes, the domed hinged lid inlaid with two bands of scrolling foliage, the reverse inscribed Steinway & Sons./ Patent./ Cabinet Work/ by/ E.W. Hutchings & Son./ New York~, one ivory key inscribed A. Kühnst, on two scroll supports with paw feet, each surmounted by an acanthus cast female head, the sides with further porcelain medallions depicting dancing maidens and cherubs, joined by a pierced fret carved back centred by a rectangular panel inlaid by dancing cherubs holding garlands of flowers, flanked to each side by a music cabinet with inlaid panelled door depicting an urn issuing flowers and ribbon-tied musical trophy, on a shaped base and bun feet, the carcass and movement numbered 32260, the cast iron frame inscribed STEINWAY FOUNDRY CASTING/ STEINWAY & SONS/ NEW YORK/ PAT APRIL 1869/JUNE 1871/MAY 1872,
the back with paper label indistinctly inscribed 42nd. ST. NY/ Warehouse Department/ 259/ 1610, and an address label for Helen J.Saint/ 45 Bloomfield Terr./ Pontiac, Mich., 236cm wide, 83cm deep, 162cm high (92.5" wide, 32.5" deep, 63.5" high).
Sold for £38,400 inclusive of Buyer's Premium
Footnote:
Provenance:
The Steinway archives state that this "style three" upright piano was completed and sold on the same day, October 8th 1875. The buyer was H.R. Halsey from 22 West 53rd Street New York.
Henry Halsey (1821-1887) was the Suffolk County, New York Sheriff.
The present lot is typical of the prestigious works made to be exhibited at an International Exhibition, the highly decorative association of painted porcelain plaques with marquetery and carved motifs are typical of Exhibition pieces.
There are known ties between the innovative firm of decorators and furniture-suppliers Herter brothers and the prominent New York cabinet makers Edward W. Hutchings and Son.
Edward W. Hutchings (1807-1889) was established in New York, on lower Broadway, the cultural and commercial heart of the city. Gustave Herter (1807-1874) worked in his workshop as well as the carver Auguste Pottier (1823-1896) before they formed a partnership in 1851-1853, creating the firm Herter, Pottier & Co.
Between 1868 and 1870 Herter Brothers and Hutching & Son collaborated for the design and decoration of the interiors of Elm Park, the residence of LeGrand Lockwood in Norwalk, Connecticut, known today as Lockwood-Mathews Mansion.
Henry Steinway, founder of the firm Steinway and Sons, established his first small workshop in New York in the early 1850s, in Varick Street. William E. Steinway, second president of the company, exhibited his pianos at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia where he received top honours.
Literature:
- "The Piano in the United States", The Atlantic Monthly, Volume XX.
- The Herter Brothers, Furniture and Interiors for a Gilded Age, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1994.
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