A George III Solid Yewwood Breakfront Bookcase, c.1775

Of refined neo-classical form, closely aligned with the architecture and designs of Robert Adam, this striking and rare yewwood bookcase, with richly carved pediment, frieze and pilasters represents a truly remarkable feat of cabinetry. Delicate chicken-wire grille doors and original gilt bronze handles of the very highest quality offset perfectly the rich lustre of the yewwood surface. In this respect to its construction, it can be linked with the very finest of workshops, and the stylistic motifs of Ince and Mayhew, and the associated carver Sefferin Alken, point in the direction of this notable 18th century establishment.

A richly storied provenance, and the excellent condition of the bookcase today, make it an extremely rare piece of English monumental furniture.

Provenance:
Presumably with Baliol's of Albemarle Street in 1931.
A. Randolph Brett, Esq., High Close, Baldock, Hertfordshire.
With Mallett, 1981 (advertisement included below).
Anonymous sale, Christie's London, 19 April 1990, lot 176.
Anonymous sale, Sotheby's New York, 1 February 1992, lot 352.
Acquired from Hotspur, 29 April 1993 by the Hon. Simon Sainsbury, of Woolbeding, Sussex.

Literature:
J. de Serre, Country Life, May 1931, p.596; 'A large break-front bookcase in the ...collection [of Messrs. Baliol of Albermarle Street] is made of yew wood of mellow colour... surmounted by a pediment...flanked by pilasters with leaf capitals... the cupboard doors are fitted with wire trellis. In the lower stage... fitted with drawers, is a fluted and pateraed frieze corresponding to that of the upper stage but narrower.' (Full article included below)
F. Lewis Hinckley, Dictionary of Historic Cabinet Woods, New York, 1953, p.91, fig. 83.
L. Synge, The Mallett Millenium, London, 1999, p.115, fig.123.

Exhibited :
The Grosvenor House Antique Dealer's Fair, 1937.

Ref: 6193

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