CIRCA 1870-80, POSSIBLY BY NOSOTTI, LONDON

It is believed the firm of C. Nosotti began in 1822 as evidenced by an early Victorian mirror sold Christie’s, London, 9 December 1992, lot 402 bearing the label ‘C. Nosotti, House ... Looking Glass Manufacturer 397.398 Oxford Street 399.399, established 1822.’ In 1829, Francis Nosotti, looking glass and picture frame maker, is listed at 298 Oxford St, while Andrea Charles Nosotti is listed at 2 Dean St., Soho, from 1835-40, trading as carver, gilder, upholsterer and cabinet maker. Almost certainly born in Milan, Andrea Charles Nosotti’s high standard of workmanship led him to exhibit a giltwood cabinet at the 1862 London Exhibition that he had made for the Countess of Waldegrave's drawing room at Strawberry Hill. The cabinet is illustrated in J. Meyer, Great Exhibitions 1851-1900, London, 2006, p.167. Further commissions came from the millionaire industrialist John Allcroft at Stokesay Court, Shropshire. Nosotti advertised furniture in the Art Journal Catalogue of the International Exhibition, 1867, noting that his firm enjoyed the patronage of the Princess of Wales. He later collaborated with the leading Victorian makers Howard and Sons.