My gallery was started in 1900 by my great grandfather and so I am the fourth generation dealing in English and French Furniture.
Our first gallery was in King st opposite Christies but during the war in 1942 Hitler dropped a bomb on our building and so my family was forced to move. At the end of the war in 1944 my family opened in Bond Street opposite Sotheby’s which is now the Gucci building.
Since 2003 I have been dealing from a mews in Belgravia off Kinnerton St.
An Exceptional Italian Parcel-Gilt Red and Cream-Japanned and Lacca Povera Bureau Cabinet
Circa 1740
56,5 x 30,5 x 112 in. high
(143,5 x 77,5 x 284,5 cm)
Bureau cabinet in two parts:
The upper part with a scrolled arched cornice cantered by a mirrored panel and surmounted by a cartouche enclosing the insignia of Pope Pius VI, the corners fitted with figures representing the four seasons, above a pair of arched mirrored cupboard doors opening to reveal a mirrored door, flanked by a pair of doors, all beneath three pigeonholes and above an arrangement of later-added short drawers;
The lower part with a slant front opening to reveal three pigeonholes above one convex and two concave- fronted drawers; above four long serpentine drawers fitted with gilt-metal handles and keyhole escutcheons, the canted corners and sides with shaped pilasters continuing to out scrolled acanthus leaf-carved feet; the whole decorated in lacca povera incorporating landscapes, hunting scenes, varicoloured birds and animals on cream reserves and a red lacquered ground highlighted with gilding, the cresting later painted.
Provenance
- Ducs de Grimaldi, by repute and probably given to Pope Pius VI
- Maillat Collection,
- Anonymous sale; Sotheby’s, London, 30 November 1984, lot 290.
- The Collection of Roberto Polo; Sotheby’s, New York, 3 November 1989, lot 90.
- With Pelham Galleries, London.
- With Partridge Fine Arts, London.
- Ann and Gordon Getty in 1993.
The first Duc de Grimaldi (1710 – 1789) was of Genoese descent whose father was a Senator of the Republic of Genova. He became a Spanish Diplomat and politician and after extensive experience as an Ambassador, Grimaldi served as Chief Minister of Spain between 1763 and 1776 helping to rebuild Spanish power following its defeat during the Seven years war. In 1776 he was removed from office and made Ambassador in Rome one year after Pope Pius VI became the Pope in 1775. Although the coat-of-arms finial affixed to the cresting of this cabinet is possibly associated, its carved decoration incorporating a tiara and the keys of St. Peter suggests that this lot was once part of a papal collection, and this spectacular cabinet has traditionally been associated with Pope Pius VI, who was Pope from 1775-1799 and was a member of the powerful Braschi family.
Exhibition
London, The Grosvenor House Antiques Fair, 1990 (with Pelham Galleries).
Literature
- F. de Dampierre, The Best of Painted Furniture, New York, 1987, p. 59. M. Agnellini, Mobili Italiani del Settecento, Milan, 1990, p. 109.
- M. Riccardi-Cubitt, The Art of the Cabinet, Londres, 1992, pl. 55, p. 104.
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