Comprising a rectangular side table, the top and frieze with floral repoussé mounts, on cabriole legs headed by flower-filled trellis and joined by arched X-form stretchers; a rectangular mirror with shaped cresting and floral repoussé mounts; and a pair of torchères, each with a circular top with floral repoussé mounts, over a faceted baluster body with trellis panels, on cabriole legs headed by flower-filled trellis
The table: 30¹⁄₄ in. (76.8 cm.) high, 45 in. (114.3 cm.) wide, 28 in. (71.1 cm.) deep
The mirror: 76 in. (193.0 cm.) high, 52 in. (132.1 cm.) wide
The torchères, each: 51¹⁄₄ in. (130.2 cm.) high, 15¹⁄₂ in. (39.4 cm.) diameter of top

Probably supplied to Richard Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe (d.1870) for Gopsall Hall, Leicestershire;
Thence by descent to Richard, 4th Earl Howe (d. 1929) at Gopshall, then Curzon House, London and subsequently Penn House, Buckinghamshire;
By whom sold at Christie’s, London, 13 June 1928, lot 35 (to M. Harris for 10,100 guineas).
With A. Chester Beatty, Dublin (from 1929-1953).
With Frank Partridge, London, 1953.
Acquired from the above by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, through the Fletcher Fund, 1953.

'A Set of Silver Mounted Furniture from Lord Howe’s Collection at Penn house Near Amersham,' Country Life, 26 May 1928, pp. 783-784.
A.C.R. Carter, Christie's Season 1928, London, 1928, pp. 310-311, ill. p. 311.
P. Colson, A Story of Christie's, London, 1950, p. 131, pl. XXXII.
P. Remington, 'The Galleries of European Decorative Arts and Period Rooms', Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New York, November 1954, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 69, 111.
H. Comstock, 'English Furniture', The Magazine Antiques, vol. 67, p. 399, figs. 2-3.
H. F. Shiffer, The Mirror Book, Exton, 1983, p. 41, fig. 62.

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The condition of lots can vary widely and the nature of the lots sold means that they are unlikely to be in a perfect condition. Lots are sold in the condition they are in at the time of sale.

The suite is overall in good order and appearance, and each piece is structurally sound and ready to use. There are minor scattered marks, nicks, surface scratches, tiny losses and repairs consistent with age and use throughout. The veneers with scattered fraying, lifting, and minor areas of small losses and signs of infill and restorations as to be expected. The silvered-metal mounts are possibly later electroplated, and have some scattered small losses to extremities, lifting in places, repaired and re-attached elements, and oxidation and accumulation of surface dust and dirt in the crevices.

After thorough review, we believe that the present suite was restored and possibly partially re-constructed in the 19th century, using earlier elements, perhaps done around the same time that major renovations were being undertaken at Penn House in the 1880s.

Below are detailed notes from our analysis of the suite:

THE MIRROR
Notes on construction:
- A figured timber used for mirror surround and a more straight grained timber used for mirror cresting
- The mirror plate is beveled, the show plate is 46 ½ in. high, 40 ½ in. wide. The bevel is 1 in wide. There is a nibbled edge to the plate, visible from the back.
- Majority of 'sparkling' and losses to silvering concentrated on the left side
- The cresting is a separate piece
Back of mirror:
- Nibbled edge to mirror plate
- ¼ in. overlap on all sides for mirror plate
- Crest made of three horizontal pine boards
- Some small additions to the carving at the top of cresting to form the backing for the metal mounts
- Some nails applied to chamfered back edge at top of cresting
- Pins of metal mounts on right side protrude through the back boards
- The back framing, two uprights flanking horizontal members top and bottom
- Walnut veneered sides with mitered edges
- Three upright oak members, apparently old replacements to affix cresting to frame and with old shadows and glue residue surrounding them
- Four recessed areas from previous metal hanging fixings with old screw holes
Horizontal backboards:
- Back boards with shadows of earlier nails
- Two later brass fixing holes
- Various redundant fixing holes
- Chalk 242 in white to lower left
- Remnant of paper label
- Some blackening to edges of some of back boards – probably surface dirt and dust build-up
- Top cresting is carved, shows shrinkage, a good sign of age

THE TABLE
Notes on construction of the table top:
- Top battened construction
- Top with mitered framing construction to form frieze and central cross brace
- Shrinkage has necessitated infill to the boards across the center of top underneath
- Top affixed with round headed hand turned screws, two at each corner and one to slightly right of center of frieze at front and one at the back to left of frieze at the rear.
- Scored guidelines on each of the corners
- The table top with larger overhang underneath at the back
- A pattern of smaller screw holes to the top and some correspond to the base
- Two of rear left two further blocks and the screw holes go halfway through the block.
- The rear right shows no signs of having had similar blocks.
- Burr walnut veneer in 12 panels some of the panels with irregularly shaped overlays and minor patches which may or may not be original.
- Some polish residue and discoloration around the mounts, indicating age.
- Mounts laid on top of veneer are apparently not set in.
- Back is not veneered, it is oak.
Notes on construction of the Table Base:
- Construction is overall typical and as expected
- The legs come through to the top
- Side framing
- Central support which is dovetailed into the framing and each corner with angled blocks
- The stretcher with blocks to each side at the join, two of which are lacking
- The top molding is applied onto the inner frame and each corner is mitered.
- Top molding legs and blocks are flush
Notes on the Apron frieze of Table:
- Smaller outline of apron behind the front apron and two vacant screw holes to each side. The shaped apron frieze has a smaller shaped version behind the larger show version. Glue reside between the layers. Design change apparently made to accommodate the mounts.
- The veneer behind the apron mounts and frieze mounts appear to be consistent.
- The lower frieze beaded /molded lower border of the front apron is cut to accommodate the apron mount, which lays in front flush with the top molding.
Notes on the Table legs:
- Some worming to back brackets
- Back right bracket re-glued.
- The reverse of the legs are not carved
- The inside of the back right and front left leg have been grain-painted.
- The veneer of back brackets with old, inactive wormholes, as to be expected with age.
- The leaf carving of the foot continues up the leg slightly in lower relief.
Notes on the Table Stretcher:
- The stretcher is composed of one long and two shorter pieces.
- The intersection of the stretchers simulate a platform, carved with a central floral boss and outer molding which is somewhat awkwardly conceived, typically a central platform would be a separate piece into which the four stretchers would be dovetailed. - The underside is similarly rather awkward construction, with the overlapping scrolls of the stretchers.
- Metal tabs protruding from each leg that flatten out and join beneath the stretchers screwed in with round headed screws. The screws are hand turned.
- The front right section of the stretcher has quite a bit old inactive worm.
- All the stretchers with central score marks.
- Acorn finial with glue residue, indicating previous repairs.
- The brackets with walnut facades and chamfered oak backing.

THE TORCHERES
- Both with glued tops (both show signs of glue residue)
- Both with faint pin holes where the top meets stem.
- Top of both with a molded top edge (lower edge not molded)
- Each top is made up of four boards although the joins appear at different places.
- The tapering support beneath the top is veneered in sections, which do not follow a specific pattern (all different sizes and joined in different places)
- The tapering support beneath the top veneered in erratic sections. The bowls are constructed from two or three horizontal boards and each end is built up slightly to make a cylindrical. Three vertical joins plus one at the end make up the mass of the bowl.
- The top flaring lip of the bowl made up on two long and two short sections and smaller fan shaped corners and other small areas of fill.
- Appears to have a crazed bitumen varnish finish
The Stems:
- Both examples of the baluster stem are built up in sections in a similar fashion to the flaring bowl, the same piece top to bottom
- The legs are dovetailed into the platform, on both examples.
- Torchère No. 2 has a wooden threading into the bottom of the stem.
- Torchère No 1: the threading probably broke off and therefore a wrought iron rod now holds it together.
- Torchère No. 1 with an additional brace and an old crack repair underneath to one leg. There is an old break all the way through the leg with glue residue visible.
- No. 2 with metal reinforcements under one leg.
- All with faint score marks bottom of the feet.

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