Estimates do not reflect the final hammer price and do not include buyer's premium, any applicable taxes or artist's resale right. Please see the Conditions of Sale for full details.
This double-domed bureau-cabinet is closely related to a walnut cabinet of the 1720s bearing the initials 'IB' and attributed to John Belchier of St. Paul's Churchyard (C. Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, Leeds, 1996, figs. 60 and 61). The base section of the current lot closely relates to a bureau-cabinet with a brass plaque to reverse inscribed 'made by Master Cabinet Maker John Belchier b-1683 d-1753 at 'the sign of the Sun' in St. Paul's Church Yard London C 1710-1720', sold anonymously, Christie's, New York, 12-13 July 2005, lot 1217. Furthermore, the configuration of the drawers and the moulded framing of the inset mirror doors are comparable to the The Brownlow Bureau Cabinet, also attributed to Belchier, which forms part of the National Trust Collection at Belton House, Lincolnshire (inv. no. 435042).
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Collections: Property from the Viscount Wimborne and the Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire
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Condition report
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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.
This elegant bureau cabinet is in good restored condition. There are the inevitable marks, scratches and shrinkage cracks consistent with age and use. The bureau cabinet has undergone sympathetic and very well-executed restoration and as a result there are some replacements to the veneers and mouldings, with later leather and plugged screws to each side to the upper edge of the fall-front. There is some craquelure to the walnut veneers due to shrinkage. Each side with two large vertical shrinkage cracks, the front with one screwed repair. Oak has been glued over shrinkage crack to verso. The gilt finials are later. As stated in the cataloguing the mirror plates, backboards to the mirrors have been replaced. The interior to the upper section has been adapted with some later elements, the lower drawers are original. The feet are later. The metalwork appears to be original.
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Lot 365Sale 23865
CIRCA 1715A GEORGE I BURR WALNUT BUREAU CABINETEstimate: GBP 20,000 - 30,000
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