William and Mary Kingwood or ‘Princes Wood’ Oyster Table Box
Circa 1690. England
SOLD
Request Information
Follow Us
William and Mary Kingwood or ‘Princes Wood’ Oyster Table Box, Circa 1690. England
The chest was originally designed to store tableware and was given the apt name ‘table box’.
The top opens on a hinge revealing a large space covered in silk velvet. The drawers are also lined in silk velvet. The chest is extremely rare and from the collective we have only been able to locate three examples in existence.
The attribution to the London cabinetmaker ‘Thomas Pistor’ is based on a group of pieces identified and previously with W.R. Harvey including two kingwood cabinets and a desk to which the table box offered here is clearly part of the same group. There were, in fact, two cabinetmakers called Thomas Pistor, father and son, working for a period at the same time but at different premises. One or both are known to have made furniture of quality for Levens Hall.
From the 4-18 August 1950 Country Life ran a series of articles featuring what was then the recently rebuilt Buxted Park, a house reconstructed by the architect Basil Lonides following a serious fire and in one of the illustrations a kingwood escritoire is visible. Subsequently, Christopher Gilbert commented in The ‘Dictionary of Marked London Furniture’, Leeds, 1996, p.44 that a “highly important kingwood fall-front cabinet inscribed ‘Thomas Pistor, Ludgate Hill, London’, formerly owned by the Hon. Basil Lonides, unfortunately, remains untraced. It was amongst the Buxted Park furniture at Sotheby’s, 25 September 1963, lot 168 (withdrawn)…”. The whereabouts of this escritoire remain unknown and further details of how the pieces are marked remain uncertain.
The overall profile and proportions of the Buxted escritoire conform to that of the table-box offered here and the W. R. Harvey cabinets as does the pattern of oysters visible on the frieze, and there is a strikingly similar large radiating circular pattern. It is undoubtedly the same maker responsible for the table-box offered here and for the two W.R. Harvey cabinets. There is an olive oyster example illustrated in ‘Woods In British Furniture Making 1400-1900’, by Adam Bowett, page 174, private collection.
Condition
Provenance
Literature
Dimensions
PREVIOUSLY SOLD
George I Carved Irish Walnut Pair of Chairs
A rare and fine pair of Irish George I walnut side chairs of excellent colour and patina, circa 1720. The undercut shaped back-splats of violin form are beautifully and naturally carved in acanthus leaves, returning into eared scrolls, topped by a crest rail depicting curtain swags and fine hanging passementerie.
George III Parcel Gilt Painted Pair of Chairs
A fine pair of painted and carved George III English chairs in the French taste, upholstered in silk damask.
Possibly by John Linnell.
George III Mahogany Serpentine Chest of Drawers
Dating from one of the most famous and highly celebrated periods in English furniture history, now known as the ‘Chippendale period’.
This fine George III mahogany serpentine chest is very much in the manner of Thomas Chippendale.
17th-Century Beadwork/Stumpwork Japanned Mirror
Advances in English domestic glass production in the second half of the century coincided with the fashion for stumpwork and resulted in the production of some of the most spectacular examples being produced.
Queen Anne Mulberry Bureau Firmly Attributed to Coxed and Woster, circa 1710 England
Queen Anne Mulberry Bureau Firmly Attributed to Coxed and Woster circa 1710 England SOLD Follow UsQueen Anne Mulberry Bureau Firmly Attributed to Coxed and Woster, circa 1710 England This magnificent Queen Anne 'Mulberry Wood' (field maple) bureau of small proportion...
A fine George III mahogany serpentine chest of drawers in the manor of Henry Hill of Marlborough
A fine George III mahogany serpentine chest of drawers in the manner of Henry Hill. With ebonised, ogee moulded serpentine dovetail-housed top.
George I Carved Irish Walnut Pair of Chairs
A rare and fine pair of Irish George I walnut side chairs of excellent colour and patina, circa 1720. The undercut shaped back-splats of violin form are beautifully and naturally carved in acanthus leaves, returning into eared scrolls, topped by a crest rail depicting curtain swags and fine hanging passementerie.
George III Parcel Gilt Painted Pair of Chairs
A fine pair of painted and carved George III English chairs in the French taste, upholstered in silk damask.
Possibly by John Linnell.
George III Mahogany Serpentine Chest of Drawers
Dating from one of the most famous and highly celebrated periods in English furniture history, now known as the ‘Chippendale period’.
This fine George III mahogany serpentine chest is very much in the manner of Thomas Chippendale.
17th-Century Beadwork/Stumpwork Japanned Mirror
Advances in English domestic glass production in the second half of the century coincided with the fashion for stumpwork and resulted in the production of some of the most spectacular examples being produced.
Queen Anne Mulberry Bureau Firmly Attributed to Coxed and Woster, circa 1710 England
Queen Anne Mulberry Bureau Firmly Attributed to Coxed and Woster circa 1710 England SOLD Follow UsQueen Anne Mulberry Bureau Firmly Attributed to Coxed and Woster, circa 1710 England This magnificent Queen Anne 'Mulberry Wood' (field maple) bureau of small proportion...
A fine George III mahogany serpentine chest of drawers in the manor of Henry Hill of Marlborough
A fine George III mahogany serpentine chest of drawers in the manner of Henry Hill. With ebonised, ogee moulded serpentine dovetail-housed top.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
18th Century George II Tavern or Act of Parliament Clock, Circa 1740
18th Century George II Tavern or Act of Parliament Clock, Circa 1740 £11,250 Follow Us18th Century George II Antique Tavern Clock or Act of Parliament Clock, Circa 1740 Antique Tavern clock by Thomas Moore Ipswich A fine eighteenth-century...
The 10.12ft 18th Century George I Bur/Burl Walnut Month Longcase Clock by James Markwick
The 10.5ft 18th Century George I Bur/Burl Walnut Month Longcase Clock by James Markwick Follow UsThe 10.5ft 18th Century George I Bur/Burl Walnut Month Longcase Clock by James Markwick This is, without doubt, the largest and most impressive...
Striking 19th Century Carriage Clock with a Gilt-Brass Corniche Case by Grohé
Striking 19th Century Carriage Clock with a Gilt-Brass Corniche Case by Grohé £3,995 Follow UsStriking 19th Century Carriage Clock with a Gilt-Brass Corniche Case by Grohé Striking carriage clock with a gilt-brass corniche case by Grohé,...
A fine and extremely rare 17th century William and Mary baroque olive oyster chest on stand or ‘table box’, circa 1675-1690.
A fine and extremely rare 17th century William and Mary baroque olive oyster chest on stand or 'table box', circa 1675-1690. £12,600 Follow UsA fine and extremely rare 17th century William and Mary baroque olive oyster chest on stand or...
Rare Silver Pocket Sundial and Compass by Michael Butterfield, Paris, circa 1700
Rare Silver Pocket Sundial and Compass by Michael Butterfield, Paris, circa 1700 £4,900 Follow UsRare Silver Pocket Sundial and Compass by Michael Butterfield, Paris, circa 1700 A beautiful, rare solid silver Anglo-French octagonal pocket...
Engraved Eight-Day Striking and Repeating Carriage Clock by Perregaux Au Locle
Engraved Eight-Day Striking and Repeating Carriage Clock by Perregaux Au Locle Follow UsEngraved Eight-Day Striking and Repeating Carriage Clock by Perregaux Au Locle The superb engraved gilt gorge brass case has facetted glass panels to all...
18th Century George II Tavern or Act of Parliament Clock, Circa 1740
18th Century George II Tavern or Act of Parliament Clock, Circa 1740 £11,250 Follow Us18th Century George II Antique Tavern Clock or Act of Parliament Clock, Circa 1740 Antique Tavern clock by Thomas Moore Ipswich A fine eighteenth-century...
The 10.12ft 18th Century George I Bur/Burl Walnut Month Longcase Clock by James Markwick
The 10.5ft 18th Century George I Bur/Burl Walnut Month Longcase Clock by James Markwick Follow UsThe 10.5ft 18th Century George I Bur/Burl Walnut Month Longcase Clock by James Markwick This is, without doubt, the largest and most impressive...
Striking 19th Century Carriage Clock with a Gilt-Brass Corniche Case by Grohé
Striking 19th Century Carriage Clock with a Gilt-Brass Corniche Case by Grohé £3,995 Follow UsStriking 19th Century Carriage Clock with a Gilt-Brass Corniche Case by Grohé Striking carriage clock with a gilt-brass corniche case by Grohé,...
A fine and extremely rare 17th century William and Mary baroque olive oyster chest on stand or ‘table box’, circa 1675-1690.
A fine and extremely rare 17th century William and Mary baroque olive oyster chest on stand or 'table box', circa 1675-1690. £12,600 Follow UsA fine and extremely rare 17th century William and Mary baroque olive oyster chest on stand or...
Rare Silver Pocket Sundial and Compass by Michael Butterfield, Paris, circa 1700
Rare Silver Pocket Sundial and Compass by Michael Butterfield, Paris, circa 1700 £4,900 Follow UsRare Silver Pocket Sundial and Compass by Michael Butterfield, Paris, circa 1700 A beautiful, rare solid silver Anglo-French octagonal pocket...
Engraved Eight-Day Striking and Repeating Carriage Clock by Perregaux Au Locle
Engraved Eight-Day Striking and Repeating Carriage Clock by Perregaux Au Locle Follow UsEngraved Eight-Day Striking and Repeating Carriage Clock by Perregaux Au Locle The superb engraved gilt gorge brass case has facetted glass panels to all...