LATEST NEWS FROM ALEXANDER GEORGE FINE ANTIQUES


Ragley Hall, Warwickshire Game Fair

Ragley Hall, Warwickshire Game Fair

We are delighted to announce that we will be showcasing a selection of important masterpieces at this year's Ragley Hall, Warwickshire Game Fair which runs from 25th to 27th July. After a turbulent time for everyone over the past year and a half,...

Fabulous Bureau Bookcase Featured In Financial Times

Fabulous Bureau Bookcase Featured In Financial Times

Our superb and exceptionally well proportioned early 18th century figured walnut ‘pagoda topped’ double dome bureau bookcase, circa 1720, was recently featured in Luke Edward Hall's regular House & Home column. Early 18th Century George I Figured Walnut Bureau...

Every little helps…

Every little helps…

Doing our bit For the past few weeks, we've been racking our brains to work out the best way we can help those who have been affected by the Corona virus pandemic. Seeing Captain Tom Moore and so many others raising funds for NHS charities, we finally worked out how...

Ragley Hall, Warwickshire Game Fair

Ragley Hall, Warwickshire Game Fair

We are delighted to announce that we will be showcasing a selection of important masterpieces at this year's Ragley Hall, Warwickshire Game Fair which runs from 25th to 27th July. After a turbulent time for everyone over the past year and a half,...

Fabulous Bureau Bookcase Featured In Financial Times

Fabulous Bureau Bookcase Featured In Financial Times

Our superb and exceptionally well proportioned early 18th century figured walnut ‘pagoda topped’ double dome bureau bookcase, circa 1720, was recently featured in Luke Edward Hall's regular House & Home column. Early 18th Century George I Figured Walnut Bureau...

Every little helps…

Every little helps…

Doing our bit For the past few weeks, we've been racking our brains to work out the best way we can help those who have been affected by the Corona virus pandemic. Seeing Captain Tom Moore and so many others raising funds for NHS charities, we finally worked out how...

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Britain’s Most Famous Cabinet Maker Thomas Chippendale…

Born in 1718 in Yorkshire to fairly humble beginnings, Chippendale quickly rose to become the greatest and most influential cabinet makers and designers of all time.

Chippendale’s capability for design was complemented by his remarkable understanding and ability to construct furniture, creating pieces that were beautiful both in look and form, as well as comfort.

It’s not surprising therefore that in 1754 when he published “The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director’, that it sold out immediately. These 160 engraved plates presented to the world his collection of designs for ‘the most Elegant and Useful Designs of House hold Furniture’.

This definitive tome was to provide a reference for craftsmen, and this it certainly has, as craftsmen in his own time, and for 300 years since, have emulated his work.

Chippendale intended for the designs to be used and adapted by craftsmen. Each design was a work in progress, to be completed according to the craftsman and client’s preferences. Chippendale’s designs lent themselves to inventive imitation, simplification and combination. He noted that ornament could be removed wherever necessary and often gave several options for decoration on two halves of the same design.

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The library table we are offering here is just such an example. Of the period, the design is based on plate No. LXXXI.  Taking its inspiration from the left hand side of the design, the desk clearly shows how Chippendale’s designs were used and modified to suit the client’s needs.

In this case, the craftsman or customer has chosen to add to the design with various drawers to the frieze, one particular drawer being for the storage of pens. But yet the familiar design and outline of the desk can still easily be recognised from Chippendales design.

It is also worth noting that the desk retains its original handles and escutcheons.

From a private collection, the desk is of the period, dating from around 1760.

In keeping with Chippendale’s ethos, the desk displays his exacting design and precision of construction, conveying a gravitas that would appeal equally to the purist collector as the first-time buyer. As expressed by Austrian architect Adolf Loos in 1929 it would be a ‘superfluous folly’ to design a new dining room chair, because the one ‘from Chippendale’s time was perfect.

As featured by the Chippendale Society – http://thechippendalesociety.co.uk/a-chippendale-library-table/

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