+ Expand

Description: AN IMPORTANT PAIR OF GEORGE II CARVED MAHOGANY LIBRARY BACK-TO-BACK WRITING TABLES, POSSIBLY BY JOHN BOSON AND PROBABLY BASED ON AN ORIGINAL DESIGN BY WILLIAM KENT CIRCA 1735-1740

each leather-lined pentagonal top with broad canted corners with further outset corners, the conforming projecting molded edge carved below with acanthus, the center with two long drawers within guilloche borders over an arched recess edged with bead-and-reel carving, the curve supported on projecting moldings continuing within the recess, above plain supports and flanked by tapered stop-fluted pilasters headed by flower head paterae within recessed panels, the canted sides with a single drawer above a cupboard opening on pin hinges and centered by a circular molding with egg-and-tongue carved ornament and a circular drop ring handle operating a spring lock, and a further drawer below, all within continuing guilloche and acanthus carved moldings, and above an open shallow arch, enclosed by a further conforming pilaster, the sides each with three drawers above a false drawer, over arches, all within conforming guilloche and acanthus moldings, the back pilasters of half-form to form a full pilaster when joined to the other table, the conforming plinth feet with gadrooned molding with foliate corners, each drawer with an inset oval brass key-plate.

CATALOGUE NOTE

These library tables are part of a group of at least seven similar examples, the other six including three complete pairs and three single tables, which presumably have lost their companion pieces. Overall they have almost identical profiles and, although the larger carved ornament and the gilt metal mounts are significantly different, the various carved moldings are closely related. Of these, one pair is similar to the present example with fluted pilasters (Good), two have foliate scroll pilasters with pendant overlapping coin ornament below (Westminster, Crichton-Stuart), two have pilasters headed by lions' masks (Partridge, Lee), and the seventh pair has pilasters headed by owl masks (Burlington). All of the examples have the distinctive small doors applied with round or oval moldings and have common decorative moldings throughout the group.
The attribution of the present pair to the London cabinetmaker John Boson (fl. 1720-d. 1743) is based on the provenance and documentation which exists for the Burlington pair. These were originally commissioned from Boson, together with a pair of giltwood mirrors, by Lady Dorothy Savile, daughter of the 2nd Marquess of Halifax and wife of the 3rd Earl of Burlington for 'The Garden Room' which was situated between the old and the new Chiswick House. On April 17, 1735 Lady Burlington had written to her husband referring to these declaring that 'I hope the signor has remembered about my tables and glasses', 'the signor' being William Kent who was responsible for the interior decoration of the Palladian villa designed by Lord Burlington at Chiswick. In Boson's account for these, which was paid on September 11, 1735, they were described as 'two Mahogany Tables with Tearms folidge and other Ornaments' and 'modles for ye Brass work' at a cost of £20. The pair of mirrors cost an additional £15. and were described as 'two Rich Glas frames with folidge and other ornaments'. (See: National Gallery of Art, 'The Treasure Houses of Britain', pp. 220-221). These tables are the most lavishly ornamented examples in the group, the rich carving being accentuated by parcel gilding. The pilasters are headed by owl masks, the crest of the Savile family, both the canted sides and those at the ends with cupboards with applied circular ornaments, the lower arches to the base centered by shells, and supported on claw-and-ball toes.

The attribution of the present pair to the London cabinetmaker John Boson (fl. 1720-d. 1743) is based on the provenance and documentation which exists for the Burlington pair. These were originally commissioned from Boson, together with a pair of giltwood mirrors, by Lady Dorothy Savile, daughter of the 2nd Marquess of Halifax and wife of the 3rd Earl of Burlington for 'The Garden Room' which was situated between the old and the new Chiswick House. On April 17, 1735 Lady Burlington had written to her husband referring to these declaring that 'I hope the signor has remembered about my tables and glasses', 'the signor' being William Kent who was responsible for the interior decoration of the Palladian villa designed by Lord Burlington at Chiswick. In Boson's account for these, which was paid on September 11, 1735, they were described as 'two Mahogany Tables with Tearms folidge and other Ornaments' and 'modles for ye Brass work' at a cost of £20. The pair of mirrors cost an additional £15. and were described as 'two Rich Glas frames with folidge and other ornaments'. (See: National Gallery of Art, 'The Treasure Houses of Britain', pp. 220-221). These tables are the most lavishly ornamented examples in the group, the rich carving being accentuated by parcel gilding. The pilasters are headed by owl masks, the crest of the Savile family, both the canted sides and those at the ends with cupboards with applied circular ornaments, the lower arches to the base centered by shells, and supported on claw-and-ball toes.

John Boson had a relatively short career, according to Virtue, dying at 'an age not considerably above middle age'. He also stated that he was 'a man of great ingenuity and undertook great works in his way for the prime people of quality and made his fortune well in the world'. It is believed that he was originally apprenticed as a ship's carver, possibly at Deptford, subsequently acquiring a yard at Greenwich in the early 1720s. His first recorded documented work was for the Duke of Kent in 1727 for carving at 4 St. James's Square, other recorded commissions for carving being for St. John's Church Smith Square (1727), St Luke's Church, Old Street (1727-1733), and Westminster Abbey (1729). Other clients included Lord Charles Somerset (1740), Lord Guilford (1740), and Sir Richard Hoare (1738). It should be noted that the majority of Boson's known commissions were for carved work both in wood and marble as opposed to cabinet-work. Only seven pieces of documented furniture by him appear to have survived. These include the aforementioned tables and mirrors, now at Chatsworth, and a pair of candle-stands with 'Boys heads' also commissioned by the Burlingtons. It is interesting to note that the account for the latter included a payment of £1 16s to 'Mr Davis the Joiner' for the woodwork. The final piece, a mahogany table stand, was commissioned from Boson by Henry Hoare II in 1738. The original account for this does not survive, although another indicates that a mahogany bed was also supplied to Sir Richard. The stand is in the form of a Roman triumphal arch, its design being strongly reminiscent of the present group of desks. It was made to support 'The Pope's Cabinet' which is in the form of an ebony Mannerist façade richly ornamented with panels of pietre dure, marbles and gilt bronze.

During the 1730s surviving records indicate that Boson was one of a select group of craftsmen working for the Royal Household under the eye of William Kent. In 1733 Boson had leased from Lord Burlington some land in Savile Row, and it is believed that Kent himself designed the house which he built on the site. He regularly carried out work for Frederick, Prince of Wales, on his houses at Leicester Fields, Kew Palace, St. James's and Cliveden, the accounts indicating that most of the work involved wood carving and the supply of chimney-pieces, sometimes in partnership with another carver John Howe (fl. 1731-1736). In 1738 Boson was paid for carved ornament including the taffrail, or stern-board of a magnificent State Barge which was commissioned by Frederick, Prince of Wales in 1731. Designed by William Kent, the craft was sixty-seven feet long and was surmounted by a richly gilded 'cabin', the prow being ornamented with a star and garter, surmounted by a shell enclosing the Prince of Wales's Plumes, and supported by dolphins and mermaids. Much of this work was carried out by James Richards (fl. 1718-1759), 'Master Sculptor and Carver in Wood to the Crown'. Although the barge was launched in 1732, Boson's bill was not submitted until December 1738, possibly indicating that further work was carried out at that time.
William Kent's original designs still exist, as does the barge itself which is in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. The silhouette of the side windows of the 'State Cabin' of the barge are also of 'Triumphal Arch' form, the pedimented façade having circular windows which may be compared to the ornament on the doors of the present group of tables. It is clear from the aforementioned letter from Lady Burlington that Kent was aware of the pair of tables and mirrors supplied by Boson, and as the designer of much of the interior of Chiswick House he must have had some considerable influence on their design.

Kent (?1685-1748) had left his native Hull in the early 1700s reaching Italy in 1709 with John Talman, the architect, and under the patronage of Sir William Wentworth of Bretton Park, Burrell Massingberd of Ormsby, and Sir John Chester of Chicheley, studied his chosen profession of painting. He became acquainted with many English nobles, who subsequently became major clients. These included the future Earl of Leicester, John Coke, and the Earl of Burlington, who brought him back to England in 1719. Burlington's protégé was 'promoted' by him on all occasions to everything in his power, to the King, to the court of works, & courtiers declared him the best History painter - and the first native of this kingdom'. In 1726 this patronage obtained him the post of Master Carpenter, and in 1735 he became Master Mason and Deputy Surveyor. It is interesting to note that 'his work as an architect did not begin until the early 1730s, by which time the character of English Palladianism had already been established by Lord Burlington. (See: Colvin, Biographical Dictionary of English Architects). Certainly, much of Kent's furniture is architectural in conception, following Palladian ideals and ornamented with classical elements, reflecting his earlier travels in Rome and Burlington's own training and influence. As Michael Wilson remarks (William Kent. op. cit.), 'there are many more extant items of furniture which reflect Kent's general influence than there are pieces specifically attributable to him', continuing that Horace Walpole noted that 'furniture including "frames of pictures, glasses, tables, chairs &c." was one of the subjects on which fashionable society regularly sought Kent's assistance'. Much of Kent's known work relates to seat furniture and side tables of sculptural form with marble tops, all richly carved and gilded. His possible involvement with the design of the Burlington tables is therefore an interesting part of his known oeuvre. Similarly, as previously noted, Boson appears to have primarily supplied carving, either as decorative details for architectural elements or in the form of chimney-pieces and mirrors, not case pieces.

The strong architectural form of the present tables is accentuated by the crisply carved moldings, together with their plain, almost severe, drawer fronts in fine, tightly grained mahogany. The drawer linings are in thin, dry wainscot oak which owing to the tightness of the construction has little oxidization. As with the Burlington examples, which have walnut lining, they have been cleverly constructed with several angled corners and unusually fine dovetails to accommodate the pentagon form of the tables. Much of the interior construction is either in oak or pine, the backs being of oak with a paneled construction with both peg and round-headed steel screws. All but two of the drawers retains their original steel locks and oval brass escutcheons, their simplicity being perfect foils to the plain timbers. The doors have unusual finely conceived 18^th century long brass and steel spring locks which could only have been designed for their present position; however, there are other filled holes that indicate that there were originally different fittings. These are operated by the drop ring handles on the exterior of the doors which are themselves supported on pin hinges. The desks also retrain their original hardwood ball castors within the plinths
It is clear that these desks would have been part of a major commission which, if not acquired from Boson, must have been supplied by another major cabinet maker working within his and Kent's circle of craftsmen supplying the Royal Household and other aristocratic patrons. The most obvious of these is Benjamin Goodison (c. 1700-1767) who succeeded his master James Moore in Royal service in 1726-1727, his name then appearing in Royal accounts until 1768. He had a number of important patrons including the 1st and 2nd Viscount Folkestone, Longford Castle, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace and the 1st Earl of Leicester at Holkham Hall. Without documentation, many pieces of furniture in the 'Kentian' tradition have attributed to Goodison, a proposition discussed in the Dictionary of English Furniture Makers. These include a large library table and a pair of chests en suite made for Sir Thomas Robinson of Rokeby, Yorkshire. The design of the former, although made in one piece, is in the form of a pair of back-to-back tables in mahogany with parcel-gilt carving including pilasters with lions' heads. The piece does not have carved moldings, as in the present pair and others cited below; having applied bands of Vitruvian scrolls and Greek key bands (see. Beard, 'William Kent as a Furniture Designer', op. cit. figs.). This probably dates to the early 1740s. From the late 1730s the Great Wardrobe was under the control of Sir Thomas Robinson and it was he who authorized all payments for work carried out for the Royal Household by William Kent and the craftsmen under his control. It should be noted that the Rokeby group, now in the collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, has oval, not round, carved ornaments with foliate clasps. This form continued to be an ornament used by later eminent cabinet-makers including William Hallett (b.c.1707-d.1781) and his successor William Vile (c.1700/05-d.1767) (see. Beard, 'The Mystery of the Foliated Ovals').

See:
Virtue Note Book, III, Walpole Society, 22, Oxford, 1934, for an obituary recording Boson's death in 1743
John Vardy, Some Designs of Mr. Inigo Jones and Mr. Wm. Kent, London, 1744
Margaret Jourdain, The Work of William Kent, London, 1948
Michael Wilson, William Kent, London, 1984
Geoffrey Beard and Christopher Gilbert, The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, 1986, pp. 88-89
H. M. Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1660-1840, London, pp. 340-346
The National Trust, 'Stourhead', 1985, p. 29.
Antique Collector, November/December 1949, 'William Kent as a Designer of Furniture', pp. 207-213
Burlington Magazine, October 1985, 'The decoration and use of the principal apartments of Chiswick House, 1727-70', T. S. Rosoman, pp.663-677
Antiques Magazine, June 1986, 'William Kent's furniture designs and the makers', Geoffrey Beard, pp. 1278-1291
Apollo Magazine, July 1992, 'Chiswick House - the inside story', Julius Bryant, pp. 17-22
The Burlington Magazine, August 1993, 'Chiswick House and its Gardens', R. T. Spence, pp. 525-531
Country Life, November 6, 1997, 'The Prince of Wales's Barge 1740', Daniel Topolski, pp. 76-83
Antiques Magazine, June 1997, 'A Barge for a Prince', Geoffrey Beard, pp.878-883
Apollo, January 2003, 'Kentian Furniture by James Richards and Others', Geoffrey Beard, pp. 37-31
The Catalogue of Fine Arts, December 2003, 'The Mystery of the Foliate Ovals', Geoffrey Beard, pp.254-257
Journal of the Furniture History Society, 1997, 'Oratorial Machines For Furniture Historians', Terry Friedman, pp. 84-103
Christie's sale catalogue, 'Works of Art from the Bute Collection', July 3 1996, lot 35

RELATED BACK-TO-BACK WRITING TABLES

Pair in carved mahogany and parcel gilt, the pilasters headed by owls' heads, supplied by John Boson to Lady Burlington in 1735, now at Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
Francis Lenygon, Furniture in England from 1660 to 1760, London, 1914, p. 168, fig. 251
Ralph Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, London, 1953, pl. IX
Anthony Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London, 1968, fig. 1
Royal Academy of Arts, Exhibition Catalogue, 'English Taste in the 18th Century', 1995-1956, item 76, pl. 11
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Exhibition Catalogue, 'The Treasure Houses of Britain', edited by Gervase Jackson-Stops, November 3, 1985 - March 16, 1986, p.221. No. 142

Pair in carved mahogany with gilt-metal mounts, formerly in the collection of the Duke of Westminster, now at The Huntingdon Library
Country Life, September 13 1956, 'Back-to-Back Writing Tables', R.W. Symonds, pp. 533-534, fig. 3
Antique Dealers' Fair and Exhibition Catalogue, 1959, p. 61, exhibited by Mallett & Son (Antiques) Ltd.
Auction Catalogue, Sotheby's, London, May 22, 1969, lot 111, property of The International Publishing Corporation
G.Wills, English Furniture 1550-1760, London, 1971, p. 234, fig.180
The Huntington Art Collections: A Handbook, 1986, pp.72, 73, item no, 70.3

Pair in carved mahogany, formerly in the collection of Alan Good, Glympton Park, Oxon.


Single in carved mahogany and parcel-gilt, the pilasters headed by lions' head masks, formerly with William Lee, York
Ninth Antique Dealers' Fair and Exhibition Catalogue, 1949, p. 62, exhibited by William Lee, 39, Stonegate, York
Antique Collector, November/December 1949, 'William Kent as a Designer of Furniture', R. W. Symonds, pp. 208-213, fig. 5

Single in carved mahogany with gilt-metal mounts, formerly in the collection of Lord Robert Crichton-Stuart
Possibly this or its pair, Herbert Ceskinsky, English Furniture from Gothic to Sheraton, London, 1929, pl. 255
Auction catalogue, Sotheby's, London, June 26, 1959, lot 178, property of Lord Robert Crichton-Stuart

Single in carved mahogany, the pilasters headed by lions' head masks, the kneehole with a recessed aperture above a cupboard, formerly with Messrs. Frank Partridge and Son, London
Antique Collector, November/December 1949, 'William Kent as a Designer of Furniture', R. W. Symonds, pp. 208-213, fig. 3
Country Life, September 13 1956, 'Back-to-Back Writing Tables', R. W. Symonds, pp. 533,534, fig 5

+ Expand

Provenance: PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION