A George III Mahogany Hall Bench in the Manner of Thomas Chippendale the Younger, From Llewenni Hall, Denbighshire

Standing on squarely tapered front legs, this finely carved hall bench is adorned with four Gothic pinnacles, delightful blind fretwork across the top rail and apron, and solid scroll arms. Three quatrefoil lozenge panels are adorned with painted arms.

The mahogany is fine, rich, and dark, with a purplish hue which is of particular appeal to the collector and aesthete alike. The seat, covered in recent years by a later cushion, is rich, and bright, as though less exposed to the atmospheric elements which cause the surface to age.

The 'impaled' central crest depicts the crest of George Hamilton, quartered with the arms of Fitzmaurice, representing John Hamilton Fitzmaurice (son of Mary, Countess of Orkney, a Hamilton, and the Hon. Thos. Fitzmaurice MP), and the Blaquiere family. Anne Blaquiere married John Hamilton Fitzmaurice in 1802. The two smaller crests on the flanking panels represent the ‘Through’ motto of the Hamilton family. Legend states that Gilbert de Hamilton, the originator of the family, was fleeing the soldiers of Edward II, when he changed clothes with a wood cutter, and proceeded to saw through an oak, shouting ‘through!’ at the appropriate moment.

It seems likely that this bench was commissioned by either John or Anne FitzMaurice on the occasion of their wedding, while they were living at Llewenni Hall, in Denbighshire. This enormous house, subsequently drastically reduced in size, was occupied by John's father, Thomas, in the 1770s, until he moved to Cliveden, his wife's seat, in 1790. The Gothick style of Llewenni Hall tallies perfectly with the form of our bench, with pinnacles, exactly like those on the bench, adorning the rooftops.

Thomas Chippendale the Younger (often called Junior, or II), is one of the most celebrated of late 18th and early 19th designers and furniture makers. The eldest son of an enormously famous father, his style is refined, interpreting the neo classical Grecian and Egyptian forms of the period with graceful proportion and elegant use of solid timbers; an almost identical bench, attributed to Chippendale II, was sold at Christies in their sale of the collection of Michael Lipitch II, in October 2001 (Lot 6).

Ref: 5712

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