These brackets claim an illustrious provenance with one of the greatest collectors of the 19th century, Alfred de Rothschild (1842-1918). He assembled a magnificent collection at his home in Buckinghamshire, Halton House. The house was built in the style of a French château, similar to his cousin Ferdinand’s nearby home Waddesdon Manor, and is an expression of the famous ‘Goût Rothschild’. The house was constructed according to plans by the architect William R. Rogers and was completed in 1884. Along with his London home at Seamore Place, Halton was the repository for many treasures displayed in opulent interiors. A publication commissioned by Alfred to illustrate his collections includes the brackets, illustrated supporting sculptural groups on each side of the fireplace in the Lawrence Room, also known as the South Drawing Room. On Alfred’s death Halton House passed to his nephew Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (1882-1918) who sold the majority of the contents at auction in 1918. The house was subsequently sold to the RAF who established the headquarters of RAF Halton in the building in 1920. Lionel purchased the Exbury estate in Hampshire in 1919 and after a neo-Georgian reconstruction in the 1920s, our brackets became part of the collection. Lionel established a world-famous garden at Exbury that contains to this day one of the largest collections of plants in the United Kingdom.
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IN THE MANNER OF ANDRE CHARLES BOULLE, ONE CIRCA 1720, THE OTHER OF LATER DATEA MATCHED PAIR OF LOUIS XIV ORMOLU-MOUNTED AND BLUE STAINED HORN 'CONSOLES D'APPLIQUE' WALL BRACKETSEstimate: GBP 50,000 - 80,000
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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.
In overall good condition. There are the inevitable dents, marks, chips and scratches consistent with age and use. As stated in the cataloguing the plinths are later, these brackets were likely used to support a bracket clock. The blue stained horn to both is warped with a few repaired breaks and patched repairs. The ormolu mounts to both with some tarnishing, verdigris and a few historic repaired breaks. Otherwise, structurally sound and ready to place. One is of later date as described in the cataloguing, most probably dating to the mid to late 19th century.
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Lot 58Sale 21905
IN THE MANNER OF ANDRE CHARLES BOULLE, ONE CIRCA 1720, THE OTHER OF LATER DATEA MATCHED PAIR OF LOUIS XIV ORMOLU-MOUNTED AND BLUE STAINED HORN 'CONSOLES D'APPLIQUE' WALL BRACKETSEstimate: GBP 50,000 - 80,000
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