14th Jun, 2022 10:00

Fine Interiors - Two Day Sale

 
Lot 184
 

184

A pair of George II gilt gesso pier mirrors

A pair of George II gilt gesso pier mirrors,
c.1735-1740, attributed to Benjamin Goodison (c.1700-1767), each architectural frame surmounted by a foliate crest within a broken swan neck pediment, over an egg-and-dart moulded edge and relief-carved acanthus detail, the shaped apron centred with a shell, surrounding a mercury glass plate with a shaped bevel,
59cm wide
121cm high (2)

Provenance: The Pleydell-Bouverie Family, Longford Castle, Salisbury, Wiltshire, thence by descent.

Possibly supplied to Sir Jacob Bouverie (1694-1761), 1st Viscount Folkestone by Benjamin Goodison, who was furnishing parts of the castle c.1737-1743.

Benjamin Goodison served as Royal cabinetmaker to George II from 1727 onwards, furnishing apartments at Hampton Court and St. James’s Palace.

Longford Castle was built during the Elizabethan period, with silver and gold retrieved from the wreck of one of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia’s galleons, which sank in the wake of the Spanish Armada. In 1717, it came under the ownership of Sir Edward des Bouverie, whose family were descendants of a Huguenot refugee, Laurens des Bouverie (1536-1610), who in the late sixteenth century fled persecution by the Catholics in the then Spanish Netherlands.

Following settlement in England, his successors earned vast fortunes during the seventeenth century with the Levant Company, profiting from a time of flourishing trade with Turkey. In 1713, Sir William des Bouverie (1656-1717) was knighted by Queen Anne, from which point they transitioned quickly into nobility, amassing wealth and status through the purchase, lease and inheritance of land, particularly in the South West of England. Upon Sir Edward’s death in 1737, his brother Sir Jacob inherited the castle and brought about the advent of several generations of refurbishment, refurnishing and remodelling. Amelia Smith in 'Longford Castle: The Treasures and the Collectors' credits Sir Jacob Bouverie as ‘the most important patron and collector of art to reside at Longford Castle’, acquiring some of its greatest assets, including ‘two suites of fine eighteenth century gilded and upholstered furniture’, of which these mirrors may have been a part. Some of the decorative motifs seen in these mirrors are similar to those in a pair of pedestals, also attributed to Goodison, which were sold at Christie's, 'The Collection of Paul F. Walter', 27 September 2017. The remaining four are still situated in the castle’s picture gallery, in which also reside gilded furniture attributed to the likes of Giles Grendey and William Vile. Other notable pieces that were acquired during this period include Hans Holbein’s ‘Ambassadors’, sold to the National Gallery in 1890, and works by Velázquez, Claude Lorrain, Poussin, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir Godfrey Kneller and Van Dyck.

Literature: A Smith, 'Acquisition, Patronage and Display: Contextualising the Art Collections of Longford Castle during the Long Eighteenth Century', Doctoral Thesis, Birkbeck, University of London, 2017;
A Smith, 'Longford Castle: The Treasures and the Collectors', Unicorn Press, London, 2017.

Take advantage of our Sworders Delivery Service. Please see 'Shipping estimate' below.

Longford Castle, Wiltshire

A selection of eighteenth-century furniture and works of art from the Pleydell-Bouverie Family.

Sold for £28,000


Condition Report

The plates heavily degraded but a reflection still visible. Backboards appear to be original and don't appear to have been off, with the plates appearing relatively contemporary, however the shaped bevel does not follow the profile of the frame, inferring that the plates were probably re-acquisitioned from a slightly earlier pair. Chips, small knocks and losses to gilding and gesso. Later gilding and gesso to the frames. Gilding worn through in places and quite unstable, with areas flaking. One fitted with later girandole sconce brackets. Some small losses to floral detail to crest and apron. Some areas of re-touching and overpainting. Splits and cracks to frames. One crest a little wobbly. Some scratches to plates. Traces of old worm damage to the backboards, particularly to one. General wear commensurate with age.

 

IN PERSON

To bid in person at auction for the first time please register for a bidding paddle in advance by filling out and submitting a registration form at our front desk. When registering in person we require photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence.

ABSENTEE BIDDING

If you cannot attend the auction in person we can bid on your behalf. You can leave an absentee bid on our website.

The amount you bid should be your maximum bid. We will bid up to that limit for you, and remember you may end up paying less than your limit, depending on other bidding on the day.

You can leave an absentee bid up to half an hour before the start of any sale. Please note when we receive two or more absentee bids for the same amount, the first bid received will be the one taken.

LEAVE COMMISSION BIDS ONLINE

If you would like to leave a commission bid on our website you can do so up until 30 minutes before the sale starts. Leaving a commission bid through sworder.co.uk is free for all registered clients. Thereafter you may register bank card details under your account in order to bid live. Click here to register an account.

BID LIVE ON sworder.co.uk

You can bid live at our auctions from the comfort of your home or office using bidding platform Sworders Live.  It is easy to register and you can watch the auction live as it happens.  A 'Bid Live' button will appear on the auction on our website homepage when a sale is live; simply click the button to sign in or register with your card details. There is no additional charge for this service. 

For further instructions on registering to bid live, please click here.

TELEPHONE BIDDING

If you would like to bid by telephone please contact our team prior to the auction with your details of the lots you are interested in and your full name, address, telephone number(s) and email address. Once our team have entered your bid request you will receive an email confirmation. We will contact you during the sale and one of our team will bid live with you over the phone.

Please note that we normally offer this service for lots with an estimate of £500 or higher and all telephone bid requests must be received by close of business the day before the auction.

Auction: Fine Interiors - Two Day Sale, 14th Jun, 2022

 

Sworders’ quarterly curated Fine Interiors sales offer stylish period and modern furnishings, decorative antiques, and important works of art, fusing traditional British and Continental antiques with eclectic works of art from Europe and further afield. With a focus on quality, rarity and style, they appeal to the discerning modern buyer whose taste and appreciation stretch far beyond the high street.

Highlights from our June sale will include pieces from several notable British estates, including the collection of Camden Passage antique dealer, Gordon Gridley, the residual contents of Bixley Manor, home of Sir Timothy Colman KG, and The Paolo Moschino Edit, a selection of pieces from the award-winning interior designer's Antique & Vintage collection.

Viewing

VIEWING

Highlights

A selection of highlights will be available to view at our London Gallery, Cecil Court, London, WC2N 4EZ, as follows: 

Wed 25 May, 10.30am - 4pm

Thu 26 May, 10.30am - 4pm

Fri 27 May, 10.30am - 4pm

Sat 28 May, 10am - 2pm

Mon 30 May, 10.30am - 4pm

Tue 31 May, 10.30am - 4pm

Wed 1 June, 10.30am - 4pm

For information on which lots will be on view, please contact: fineinteriors@sworder.co.uk

Auction

Auction viewing will be held at our Stansted Auction Rooms, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet CM24 8GE, as follows:

Fri 10 June, 10am - 5pm 

Sat 11 June, 10am - 2pm 

Sun 12 June, 10am - 2pm 

Mon 13 June, 10am - 5pm 

All lots are, however, extensively illustrated and carry detailed condition reports - see 'Condition report' at the foot of each lot description. 

View all lots in this sale

Please note that this item is not suitable for a pre-sale automated shipping estimate due to the items weight/size. 

The below table shows indicative shipping costs for larger items being delivered within the UK mainland. Please note that all the below costs are purely for indicative purposes and are to be used as a guideline only. If you purchase multiple large items, we will combine deliveries to reduce the shipping costs. 

Should you be successful in buying this item, a specific shipping estimate will need to be requested after the sale using the link in your invoice email; this also includes all requests for international delivery.

If you would like further information about shipping and collection please see here.

 

Buying a pre-loved, antique, or vintage item not only provides you with unique style and value for money but it also helps to reduce landfill, and the annual emissions of an antique or vintage piece can be as little as one sixteenth of those of its new equivalent!

Sworders is proud to be supporting the work of Antiques are Green - the movement that was founded in 2009 to promote “a greener future created from the past”. Read their fascinating carbon footprint study of a Georgian chest of drawers versus a modern equivalent here

 

Antiques are Green

 

Request A Valuation

Here at Sworders, we are happy to offer a free online valuation service. Please fill out the form and press the 'Submit' button below.

To help us with your valuation please attach clear photographs of the item where possible. You can submit up to 5.

Approximate dimensions are also useful. Expect to hear from the appropriate valuer as soon as possible.

Images

Drag and drop .jpg images here to upload, or click here to select images.