Lot 259
A early Victorian kingwood, tulipwood banded and porcelain mounted serpentine bureau plat attributed to Edward Holmes Baldock
20 November 2013, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£30,000 - £50,000
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A early Victorian kingwood, tulipwood banded and porcelain mounted serpentine bureau plat attributed to Edward Holmes Baldock
Applied with gilt bronze mounts, the shaped top with tooled red leather inset writing surface, with stiff leaf cast edge and scrolling shell clasped corners, above an undulating frieze mounted with scrolling acanthus leaves inset with white and green porcelain panels painted with fruit, flowers and exotic birds, heightened with gilding, within flowerhead cast mounts, the front incorporating two frieze drawers with spring mechanisms, the angles with pierced acanthus, 'C' scrolls and trailing flowerhead mounts leading to sabots, with paper Army & Navy depository label to the underside, 144cm wide, 69cm deep, 75cm high (56.5in wide, 27in deep, 29.5in high).
Footnotes
The above lot relates to a group of English furniture dating from the 1830s which bears the branded mark EHB for Edward Holmes Baldock. These pieces include a pair of pier cabinets sold Sotheby's London, 4 November 1988, lot 327, a bureau plat sold in the same rooms, 2 November 1990, lot 238 and a pair of display cabinets formerly in the collection of the Earl of Shelburne offered Phillips, London, 23 October 2001, lot 47.
Edward Holmes Baldock (1777-1845) is listed in London Trade Directories of the period in various capacities. He first appears listed at 7 Hanway Street, London in 1805 described as a '...dealer in china and glass' and by 1821 as '...an antique furniture and ornamental furniture dealer'. By 1826 the various facets of the business included '...buying and selling, exchanging and valuing china, cabinets, screens, bronzes etc' Baldock's business seems to have largely involved trading in foreign items and from 1832-1837 he was the purveyor of earthenware and glass to William IV and later purveyor of china to Queen Victoria from 1838 until his death. He is known to have repaired, re-modelled and adapted furniture, often 18th century pieces, but he also designed furniture both in the 18th century style and in more contemporary styles. The pieces that appear with the E.H.B cypher may have been made by him at his Hanway Street workshop but there is no documentary proof as to whether he both designed and manufactured them. Rather than being a straightforward manufacturer Baldock's activities link him more closely with the 18th century marchand-merciers such as Daguerre and Poirier.
Baldock was involved in the formation of some of the great collections of French furniture during the early 19th century, these included those of George IV, William Beckford, George Byng M.P and the Duke of Buccleuch. Other archive materials link him to notable figures such as the 1st Baron Hatherton, the 2nd Earl of Lonsdale, The Duke of Northumberland and Lord de Saumarez. Baldock's connection's in the ceramic trade meant that he was well positioned to exploit the fashion for porcelain mounted furniture. He is known to have employed the Quaker artist Thomas Martin Randall at Madeley in Shropshire to embellish undecorated Sèvres and many of the porcelain panels and plaques used to decorate his furniture are closely allied to the work of Randall. By 1843 Baldock has amassed a significant fortune and had retired to a house at Hyde Park.