Term of the Day: Espagnolette 11/30/09

Detail of a German rococo mid-18th-century carved wood and gilded console table.

This detail shows an espagnolette on the leg of a console table. An espagnolette is a decorative mount for furniture, usually in the form of a female bust (as in the present example), or of a female figure. Espagnolettes can also appear as a male or female mask. In any form, they are usually applied to the sides or on the legs of a table or chair, and follow the curve of the surface.

To see more of this table, visit: http://www.carltonhobbs.com/viewDetail.asp?strReference=9515

Term of the Day: Gilding 10/15/09

Detail of one of a pair of gilt-composition mirrors with nautical decoration.

The present mirror dates from around 1750: its frame was molded with nautical-themed rococo decoration, and then applied with two-tone gilding, which remains intact today. Gilding is the technique of applying a thin layer of gold, or, in the case of silver-gilding, silver, to a surface of a different material. Gilding has been practiced in many cultures since ancient times, and some of the ancient practices have remained virtually unchanged throughout the ages. The ancient Egyptians’ use of gold-leaf—gold pounded into a paper-thin sheet—which was applied to a surface of wet plaster in the tombs of the Pharaohs, is very similar to the use of gold-leaf in the gilded furniture produced in Europe and England since the Middle Ages. One of the most enduring uses of gold-leaf furniture in Europe was in gilded wood, or giltwood: the furniture was typically carved, and the gold-leaf applied with a water-based or oil-based preparation to a surface of gesso on the wood. Giltwood furniture became more common in England in the late 17th century, and the use of gilt-gesso arose: small objects and some relief decoration on wooden furniture were made using gesso, which was easier to model than wood.

Gilding was also done to metal: until the 19th century, the best way of producing the luxury material gilt-bronze, called bronze doré in France, was through the ormolu method, which was the same process used by the ancient Romans for gilding metal: it involved coating the metal surface with an amalgam of gold and mercury, and burning off the excess mercury in a kiln. This produced fumes that were extremely dangerous to the health of the gilder, and in the 19th century ormolu was replaced by electroplating, a safe method which allowed furniture designers to continue to make decorative objects and furniture mounts in gilt-bronze, gilt-brass, and other copper alloys.

To see more of this mirror, visit: http://www.carltonhobbs.com/viewDetail.asp?strReference=9556

English. Circa 1755. The present mirror provides a rare and exciting example of furniture which can be directly related to the renowned designer and carver Thomas Johnson (1714 - c.1778). The mirror is almost identical to a drawing by Johnson which appeared as part of plate 2 in his celebrated and highly influential Collection of Designs. Given the quality of his designs, it is somewhat surprising that, as of yet, no documented pieces firmly attributable to Johnson himself have come to light. Johnson's work represents the most adventurous expression of the Rococo taste by an English designer, conceived as the style was reaching its apogee in England. The present piece belongs to a small and elite group of English rococo mirrors which excel in their interpretation of the style.

The term, an ornament of classical architecture made popular in the Baroque and Rococo periods, is composed of a tapering pillar or pedestal that is headed by a bust of human, animal, or mythical form.

In Regency Redux by Emily Evans Eerdmans (New York, 2008) various 20th century interpretations of the Regency style, from “the Napoleonic to the Classical Moderne to the present, are explored.”1 Clean lines combined with the flair of French Empire style resulted in glamorous and luxurious interiors in the homes of the Hollywood haut monde, achieved by pairing contemporary and antique design elements.

From the 16th century onward, grottoes were constructed as fanciful retreats from reality. They appeared throughout Europe, from the Buontalenti Grotto at Palazzo Pitti in Florence, to the Grotto of Thetis at Versailles (torn down in 1684), to the Kuskovo Grotto near Moscow. These fantasy structures were “adorned with interesting rock formations, fountains, seashells, and often, matching furniture.”1

Neoclassical armchair, probably Russian, circa 1805. Carlton Hobbs LLC. From the 16th century onward, grottoes were constructed as fanciful retreats from reality. They appeared throughout Europe, from the Buontalenti Grotto at Palazzo Pitti in Florence, to the Grotto of Thetis at Versailles (torn down in 1684), to the Kuskovo Grotto near Moscow. These fantasy structures were “adorned with interesting rock formations, fountains, seashells, and often, matching furniture.”1 Design for the chariot of Thetis by Jean Berain and workshop. (Photo: Snodin and Llewellyn. Baroque. V&A Publsihing, 2009, p155) The fashion continued through the Rococo period, where scrolling C- and S-curve designs based on the shell were developed, and into the 19th century.  A chair currently in our collection, probably Russian and made circa 1805, is designed with a shaped back in the form of a scallop shell (figure 1). The finest craftsmen of this era, such as Heinrich Gambs and Andrei Voronikhin, were known for taking artistic liberties and relying “heavily on decorative elements which assume almost a curiosity value.”2 Inspiration for grotto furniture derived partially from mythology, particularly those myths with maritime subjects such as Venus, Triton, and Thetis. The latter featured in Jean-Baptiste Lully’s tragédie en musique of 1764, Alceste. In the opera, Thetis, a sea goddess or Nereid, aids in the abduction of Alceste; in more general mythology she was married to the mortal Peleus, after being courted by Zeus and Poseidon, and is the mother of Achilles. In a drawing for the set design of a production of Alceste (c. 1674-8), Thetis is depicted riding in a shell-form chariot drawn by dolphins (figure 2). Venus Chair, probably German, circa 1800. Formerly in the collection of Carlton Hobbs LLC. A further chair, previously in the Carlton Hobbs collection, is much related to this drawing (figure 3). German in origin, circa 1800, the shaped back of this chair takes the form of a more highly articulated scallop shell with armrests composed of hippocampi (fanciful creatures with the fore-parts of a horse and hind-parts of a fish). The chair is entirely adorned with attributes of Venus, who is traditionally depicted as being born from, or carried ashore by, a scallop shell. Footnotes: 1. De Dampierre, Florence. Chairs, A History. New York: Abrams, 2006. 110. 2. Chenevière, Antoine. Russian Furniture: The Golden Age 1780-1840. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988.

Of finely figured mahogany. The rectangular ratcheted top above a plain frieze set with a single full length drawer fitted with a leather lined writing slide and lidded compartments. The front set with two rococo cast brass swan neck handles. The whole raised on four moulded and chamfered straight legs ending in a replaced block foot.

Of finely figured amboyna. The serpentine shaped top above a plain undulating frieze, fitted at each end with a drawer centred by a gilt bronze rococo escutcheon. The whole raised on four well drawn canted cabriole legs.

Venetian. Circa 1760. Of giltwood. Of bombé form. The shaped agata amestina veneered top above a single shallow drawer edged with floral carving and a deep shaped panelled drawer, the angles carved to the shoulder with berries and leaves, the whole raised on four cabriole legs, each carved to the knee with foliate decoration and terminating in a carved foot.

The present mirrors are one of the most complex and dynamic expressions of the early rococo style in England. The mirrors employ the language of the rococo in the form of rocaille, floral and shell-like forms, and c-scrolls, yet retain a baroque sense of massivity and balance that eschews any hint of rococo frivolity. The mirrors formed, at one time, part of the iconic collection of the Duke of Northumberland. According to Graham Child, they have a history of being present in three of the Ducal residences. “They were formerly at a house called Stanwick Park... The pair is also illustrated in the Duke of Northumberland's archives as being in the collection at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, and were recently removed from Syon House, Middlesex.” Sir Hugh Smithson of Yorkshire, who adopted the name Percy upon his marriage to Elizabeth Percy in 1740, inherited the title of Earl of Northumberland from his father-in-law, Algernon Seymour, in 1750.