John Hogan (1800-1858) was one of Ireland’s greatest sculptors. He was born the son of a carpenter at Tallow, Co. Waterford, and by 1816 was apprenticed to Thomas Deane, a builder and architect for whom he worked as a carpenter and woodcarver. In 1823, he attracted the attention of the Irish engraver W.P. Carey, who recognized his talent and helped him  to study in Rome. Portrait of John Hogan. Cork City Libraries.

Hogan set out for Italy and soon made a name for himself, remaining there except for a number of return visits to Ireland, until 1848.  Famed neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorwaldsen is supposed to have said, “My son you are the best sculptor I leave after me in Rome.”  In 1840, Hogan was elected a member of the society of “Virtuosi al Pantheon”, the first British subject to be so honored since its foundation in 1500. Hogan died in Dublin on 27 March 1858, ten years after he finally left Italy.  Whilst in Rome he had sent much of his work home and subsequently today most of his sculpture is in Ireland. Hogan frequently exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, as well as at the National Exhibition of 1852 in Cork and the Paris International exhibition.  He was quick to take up the neoclassicism of Canova and Thorwaldsen when he arrived in Rome, and his seemingly effortless talent produced a body of work which was much admired, from his religious and funerary monuments to his large scale commissioned work and intimate portraits. Marble portrait bust of James Murphy by Hogan.

The present bust depicts James Murphy (1768-1855) of Ringmahon Castle, Blackrock, Co. Cork. James was a magistrate and a brewer who, along with his brothers, founded James Murphy and Company, Distillers in 1825. The Murphy family was also known for having several of its members in the clergy, including James’ brother, Bishop Murphy, who Hogan had also portrayed. The curly hair is heavily drilled and his eyelids sharply incised; this together with the strong modeling of the face produce a keenly observed and exquisitely sculpted portrait. The relief on the base (left) shows Mercury flying with cadacus and trumpet; the relief (right) shows Hibernia seated on a bale with cornucopia and a barrel.  Both reliefs are emblematic of commerce. Signed and dated on the reverse Hogan Fecit 1834.

The design on which these remarkable mirrors are based was officially registered by the cabinet maker George Sims of 50-152 Aldersgate Street, London, in March 1878 and survives in the National Archives at Kew. Standing at just over 7 feet tall, the mirrors follow the design very closely, although they are given a stricter architectural quality by the decision to leave out the ornamental crest and swag on the drawing.

Although clearly closely inspired by Robert Adam’s work, Sims has lent these pieces an inventive edge by subtly departing from the conventions of Adam’s oeuvre. For instance, the hemispherical fans are curiously but successfully inverted and placed at the base of the mirror. Other motifs within the array of finely detailed neoclassical decoration are on close scrutiny more stylised and angular versions of their eighteenth-century counterparts.

Furthermore, Sims’ handling of the geometry and proportions of the mirror is exemplary and is redolent of the more radical designers of the early years of the nineteenth century, all the more remarkable given the date of conception of the present pieces. The exceptional quality and scale of the mirrors suggests that they were clearly a special commission of the highest order. The diamond mark [patent registration label] on the present pair of mirrors, pictured to the right, gives the date 25 March, 1878 Top. You can find a detailed explanation of these diamond marks here: The Registered Diamond Mark.

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The design on which these remarkable mirrors are based was officially registered by the cabinet maker George Sims of 50-152 Aldersgate Street, London, in March 1878 and survives in the National Archives at Kew. Standing at just over 7 feet tall, the mirrors follow the design very closely, although they are given a stricter architectural quality by the decision to leave out the ornamental crest and swag on the drawing.

Although clearly closely inspired by Robert Adam’s work, Sims has lent these pieces an inventive edge by subtly departing from the conventions of Adam’s oeuvre. For instance, the hemispherical fans are curiously but successfully inverted and placed at the base of the mirror. Other motifs within the array of finely detailed neoclassical decoration are on close scrutiny more stylised and angular versions of their eighteenth-century counterparts. Furthermore Sims’ handling of the geometry and proportions of the mirror is exemplary and is redolent of the more radical designers of the early years of the nineteenth century, all the more remarkable given the date of conception of the present pieces. The exceptional quality and scale of the mirrors suggests that they were clearly a special commission of the highest order.

The diamond mark [patent registration label] on the present pair of mirrors, pictured above, gives the date 25 March, 1878 [top, bottom, and righthand corners of the diamond, respectively]. You can find a detailed explanation of these diamond marks here: The Registered Diamond Mark.

One of a pair of George III two-tiered jardinieres.

In the collection of Carlton Hobbs.

As seen in the Carlton Hobbs Blog article: "How does your jardin grow?" http://www.carltonhobbs.net/furniture/how-does-your-jardin-grow/...

"Tops are often amont the finest artistic expressions of the period from which they date—whether pietre dure in the Renaissance, micromosaic in the Neoclassical period or rare marble slabs in the Baroque," says antiques dealer Carlton Hobbs. From May 13 through 22, Hobbs's Manhattan gallery is hosting a show of 25 tabletops featuring examples from each of those eras. Prices range from $84,000 to $1.65 million. The latter tag is attached to the Woodhall Park table, which has an Italian Renaissance pietre dure surface that bears striking similarities to the prized Farnese Table in New York's Metropolitan Museum. The piece mounts a side table attributed to the English designer Thomas Leverton (1743-1824).

Born July 3, 1728, Scottish architect, decorator and furniture designer Robert Adam was one of the most influential craftsmen of the 18th century, and so it is to him we dedicate today’s blog on what would be his 281st birthday!

Our recent acquisition of a set of chairs after a model by an Italian female carver, has piqued our interest in the activity of 18th century female artisans in the male-dominated field of furniture making. This particular intagliatore, or carver, was named Lucia Landucci and her set of ten giltwood neoclassical klismos chairs was just one of several important commissions that she executed for the Villa Borghese, Rome (see our blog of June 11, 2009).

Copenhagen. Circa 1770. Of carved deal retaining their original gilding and bevelled mirror plates. Each rectangular frame with ribbon and reed carved decoration with inner twist mouldings enclosing shaped bevelled divided mirror plates. The elaborately carved crest surmounted by a stylised vase resting on a stepped podium from which issue heavy floral swags tied by a ribbon. The apron with floral festoons fixed to the sides with plain turned bosses.

German or Viennese. Circa 1790. Of mahogany with gilt-brass mounts. The projecting rectangular top above a continuous frieze fitted with two short drawers to the front, each drawer centred by a pierced key escutcheon and flanked by fluted pilasters, the two long drawers carved in relief with shaped panels, each drawer centred by a conforming escutcheon flanked by two drop handles, each handle surmounted with paired eagles heads, the sides carved in relief with geometric motifs, each centred by a lion's mask with a ring handle, the panelled back similarly veneered. The whole raised on four sabre legs.

Berlin. Circa 1830. The present botanical table is much in the manner of the work of the celebrated designer and architect Karl Friederich Schinkel (1781-1841). The formal restraint of the table, free from extraneous decoration and marked by the smooth elegance of its form and the quality of its detailing, is characteristic of Schinkel’s neo-classical furniture designs. The table is closely related to an engraving of an antique marble urn from Tivoli published in Vorbilder für Fabrikanten und Handwerker, for which Schinkel provided the plates from 1821. The Botanical table could be used to grow and display plants by means of removable trays which fit ingeniously into the curving sides of the table’s top or can be stored away in the base. Schinkel was profoundly engaged with relating his architecture to nature and the surrounding landscape, and the present table can be seen in the context of the garden rooms he incorporated into his buildings to achieve this conjunction.

The neoclassical style and architectural imagery of these later 18th-century marquetry commodes identify them as pieces designed and created by the artisans of the famous botteghe in Rolo, Italy, which by that time was known as the center for high-quality marquetry furniture. The Rolese workshops had been producing fine intarsia work since the 1400s, in the illusionistic style established by the brothers Cristoforo (1448-1491) and Lorenzo (1425-1477) Canozi da Lendinara. In the 18th-century, the entire region of Emilia-Romana had become a hub of neoclassicism, inspired by the arrival in 1753 of Ennemond-Alexandre Petitot to serve as court architect to the Duke of Parma. Under Petitot's influence, the artisans of Rolo began producing furniture that was neoclassical in form, but still decorated with Renaissance imagery inspired by the Lendinara brothers' work. The present commodes, with their rectilinear form and perspectival architectural decoration, are an example of this.

English. Last Quarter Of The Eighteenth Century. The present pair of candelabra, although almost certainly English, due to their lightness of modeling, gilding technique, and typically English vase-shaped brass candleholders, are based on a French prototype that was introduced in the late 18th century. It is likely that the pair, which are most unusually carved in fine detail from wood, were produced as special commissions, or as maquettes for the plaster sculpture industry that flourished in Britain from the mid-18th through the mid-19th century. The plaster sculpture movement never spread to the Continent, although a very influential set of French statuettes were first produced in plaster for a party at the home of Madame du Berry in 1771. These four figures of Abundance held cornucopias from which issued candlelight.

Probably Milan. Circa 1770. Based on the evidence of a number of published pieces, it seems likely that this pair of blue-painted and gilt mirrors is of Milanese origin and date from the last quarter of the 18th century. The mirrors illustrate the shift toward neoclassicism in late 18th century decor in their rectilinear, almost architectural, form. Rococo frivolity is counteracted by straight lines, restrained carving, and a symmetrical scrolling acanthus motif in line with contemporary reflection on classical antiquity. The blue and gilt coloring of the mirrors can be found on Milanese examples of the period, and similar patterns are found in the interior decoration of princely residences of the Lombardy region, including a Milanese mirror, circa 1780, in the Palazzo Reale, and the wall and door paintings of the Palazzo Ducale di Mantova, circa 1779-80.

Probably Milan. Circa 1770. Based on the evidence of a number of published pieces, it seems likely that this pair of blue-painted and gilt mirrors is of Milanese origin and date from the last quarter of the 18th century. The mirrors illustrate the shift toward neoclassicism in late 18th century decor in their rectilinear, almost architectural, form. Rococo frivolity is counteracted by straight lines, restrained carving, and a symmetrical scrolling acanthus motif in line with contemporary reflection on classical antiquity. The blue and gilt coloring of the mirrors can be found on Milanese examples of the period, and similar patterns are found in the interior decoration of princely residences of the Lombardy region, including a Milanese mirror, circa 1780, in the Palazzo Reale, and the wall and door paintings of the Palazzo Ducale di Mantova, circa 1779-80.

The Table English. Circa 1785. The Top Probably Rome. Circa 1600. This magnificent 16th-century Roman pietre dure top stands on an important neoclassical giltwood base, almost certain to have been made to a design by Thomas Leverton for the Drawing Room at Woodhall Park, the splendid mansion built in the 1780s for Sir Thomas Rumbold. The tabletop can be compared to a select group of similar pietre dure pieces that date from 1550 to 1620, which includes the Farnese Table, now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, the famed Richelieu table in the Galerie d’Apollon in the Louvre, an octagonal table in the Palazzo Quirinale in Rome, and a rectangular top from Fonthill Abbey. The present top shares a number of defining features with the aforementioned pieces that would suggest Roman manufacture during the second half of the 16th century. The technical virtuosity of the craftsmanship and the complexity of the design are enhanced by the great variety of stones employed.