Footnotes

Featured and Illustrated
D. Fitzgerald, Knight of Glin and J. Peill, Irish Furniture, 2007, Yale University in New Haven and London, fig. 46, p. 51.

Overview
The present lot is one of an important group of four similar walnut and marquetry secretaire cabinets, dated circa 1720, which all appear in the above seminal work on Irish furniture produced by D. Fitzgerald, Knight of Glin and James Peill. It is a widely held view that this book remains the most interesting, academically practical and intellectually insightful that has yet been published upon the subject of Irish furniture, together with carving and woodwork from the same country. In chapter three the co-authors re-affirm a previous assertion that such walnut cabinets are indeed of Irish origin.

R.W. Symonds
This theory had been originally expounded by the esteemed furniture historian, decorative arts academic and author, R.W. Symonds, in his 1956 article called "Dean Swift's Writing Cabinet and Two Others" as part of The Antique Collector, Vol. 27, No. 7, April 1956, pp.'s 60-63. Within this text, Symonds details a number of shared design elements and similar characteristics between three of these aforementioned cabinets, which includes the offered lot. He argues logically, and it would seem with the benefit of hindsight correctly, that this selection of three cabinets are in fact all very closely related.

Jonathan Swift and the alleged 'Swift cabinet'
However, it was the belief that one of the three discussed therein had been a possession of Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), the famous author of "Gulliver's Travels", poet, conservative 'patriot' and Anglican cleric, who eventually became the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral (in Dublin), which led Symonds to posit that all three examples had undoubtedly been executed in either the same Dublin workshop, or at least made by similar Dublin makers. The first, which is the supposed Swift model, has been at the Victoria and Albert since being bought by the museum in 1912 from Alfred A. de Pass, Accession No. W.32: 1-1912. It appears in P. Macquoid, A History of English Furniture, The Age of Walnut, published 1904-1908, 1989, London, pl. XXX & p. 195, and is also illustrated in J. Peill and D. Fitzgerald, Knight of Glin's Irish Furniture, fig. 44, p. 50. Interestingly Macquoid is in fact the first to describe it in writing as having been the "property of Dean Swift".

Following Macquoid, Alfred de Pass certainly believed the illustrious provenance to be true and this can be seen in a letter, dated 2 May 1912, which was sent to the Victoria and Albert by de Pass, registered file 12/2496, 12/2622. But unfortunately there is no evidence proving that this marvellous piece was ever owned by Swift. Indeed it would seem apparent that this provenance was previously based upon what is now considered to be a misreading of an inscription discovered below one of the drawers. Until fairly recently it was thought that this inscription read: "Mrs McAndrews.... Mr Swifts House", however in 2012 infra-red photography brought to light the true hand written message which is instead rather different: "Mr McAndrews / in Proper Lane facing / the Sugar House". Consequently this casts serious doubt upon the early proprietary history of this specific example, www.collections.vam.ac.uk.

If it had been possible to prove the opposite - that the museum cabinet had categorically belonged to Jonathan Swift - then judging from certain text published by the revered satirist and essayist in 1720 there would be further proof (if needed) that it was definitely made in Ireland, and most likely Dublin. Within this pamphlet, entitled 'A Proposal for the Universal Use of Irish Manufacture in Cloaths and Furniture of Houses... Utterly Rejecting and Renouncing Everything Wearable that Comes from England', the influential Dean laments the English mercantilist policy prevalent at that time in Ireland. In his opinion this approach had a thoroughly negative impact on Ireland, and in particular upon the wealth of the nation as a whole, D. Fitzgerald and J. Peill, Irish Furniture, p. 61.

John Kirkhoffer and the Kirkhoffer model
The second variant from the R.W. Symonds article has a pencil signature to the underside of one drawer which reads: 'John Kirckoffer / facit [sic.] / 1732' (made by John Kirckoffer in 1732). This features in Ibid, fig. 45, p.50, as well as being discussed by the same authors in an article published the following year called "A Newly Discovered Signature on a Piece of Irish Furniture", The Magazine Antiques, October 2008, Vol. CLXXIV, No. 4, pp.'s 140-145. It is subsequently highlighted in the chapter, "Irish Furniture" also by J. Peill, from Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690-1840, ed. by W. Laffan and C. Monkhouse, 2015, Chicago, pp.'s 166-7. This specific model resides with the Art Institute of Chicago and is close in terms of overall design and also in a number of details to both the Victoria and Albert comparable and of course the present lot, www.collections.vam.ac.uk.

John Kirkhoffer (whose name appears in numerous guises) was probably the son of a German Palatine called Franz Ludwig, who arrived in Ireland as a refugee in 1709 after escaping the Rhineland-Palatinate area, which had been subjected to many years of conflict by that date. The Kirkhoffer family of Protestant immigrants made it to the counties of Kerry and Limerick before ultimately settling in Dublin. Although this particular John Kirkhoffer was evidently a cabinet maker working in Dublin during the 1730s and someone recorded as leasing premises for this purpose in 1736, others also referred to by the same name are likewise documented as cabinet makers active in Dublin in the 18th century. As a result there is some confusion as to the exact identity of the man called John Kirkhoffer who was clearly responsible for the example that can be seen today at the Chicago Art Institute.

General design and configuration
All three cabinets referenced by Symonds are configured alike. Each of their upper pair of mirror glass-inset doors with re-entrant angles are interspersed by four fluted Corinthian pilasters surmounted by a flat cornice. Below the doors there is one deep drawer with four strapwork marquetry tablets (or inlaid 'faux' pedestals) continuing the line of the pilasters above. The secretaires and secretaire interiors are similar, having corresponding layouts and conforming interspersed pilasters. Each of the three have slides located immediately below this level, whilst also having six short graduated drawers flanking the central recessed door.

Significantly both the signed Kirckoffer and the offered model have prominent inlaid shaped brackets flanking their upper cabinet parts, which are also mounted with detachable brass scrolled candle arms. It is interesting that the so called 'Dean Swift' cabinet is lacking these brackets, although clearly judging from the sizeable amount of space left alongside each lower end of the latter's upper section, this is most likely because its original brackets are actually missing. Peill and Fitzgerald reinforce this hypothesis by stating that: "The veneers on the side surfaces of the cabinet where the brackets would have been, have been replaced, which supports this supposition..." Ibid, pp.'s 51 & 304.

The Cornbury Park comparable
The third comparable which is closely related to the previous pieces, although not mentioned by Symonds at all, is pictured and discussed in Ibid, fig. 47 & pp.'s 51 and 304. It previously formed part of the Oliver Watney collection at Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire, until it was sold at auction as part of a house sale, Christies, 22 May 1967, lot 147. Its basic design and configuration almost matches that of the two aforementioned as well as the above, except for the fact this Cornbury Park example has the distinctive feature of a swan neck pediment with a central shell cresting, instead of the typical flat moulded cornice top found on the others. As a result, it would seem probable that this is marginally later in date than the previous.

However, the brackets flanking the central deep drawer of the upper section on the ex-Watney version are highly reminiscent of the end brackets on both the Kirkhoffer and the offered cabinet. Yet in terms of the general outline, shaping, position and inlay of these brackets, the Cornbury Park cabinet is certainly nearest in all such characteristics to the present lot.

Conclusion
It is important to note that at the time of its publication in 2007, Peill and the Knight of Glin acknowledged within the text of their seminal book that it was neither known where the current secretaire was then located, nor indeed who at that time owned it. Consequently, whilst representing something which is clearly 'fresh to the market' and of genuine academic interest, it is also a very exciting discovery that is our privilege both to bring to public awareness and present at auction.

Literature
R.W. Symonds, "Dean Swift's Writing Cabinet and Two Others", The Antique Collector, Vol. 27, No. 7, April 1956.
P. Macquoid, A History of English Furniture, The Age of Walnut, originally published 1904-1908, London, 1989.
D. Fitzgerald, Knight of Glin and J. Peill, Irish Furniture, 2007, Yale University in New Haven and London.
J. Peill, "A Newly Discovered Signature on a Piece of Irish Furniture", The Magazine Antiques, October 2008, Vol. CLXXIV, No 4, pp.'s 140-145.
Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690-1840, ed. by W. Laffan and C. Monkhouse, 2015, Chicago.