14th Mar, 2023 10:00
Fine Interiors - Two Day Sale
9
Formerly in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
A Renaissance-style walnut extending table 'en Croix de Lorraine',
incorporating a mixture of 16th and 19th century elements, French, the rectangular top with two draw leaves, above an apron punctuated with turned toupies, raised on seven Tuscan column supports and a stepped base, terminating in bun feet, bearing two painted accession numbers,
248cm long at full extension
77cm wide
80cm high
Provenance: The Late John Scott-Oldfield, 65 Warwick Square, London, SW1;
purchased by the above from Gallori Turchi, Florence, 1996;
Sotheby's New York, 'European Works of Art, Arms and Armour, Furniture and Tapestries', Wednesday 13 May 1995, lot 161;
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, loaned 1906 and accessioned 1916 (inv. no. 16.32.44),;
John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913);
Georges Hoentschel (1855-1915).
Literature: D. Kisluk-Grosheid, D Krohn, Deborah & U Leben ed., 'Salvaging the Past: Georges Hoentschel and French Decorative Arts from The Metropolitan Museum of Art', 2013, p.74, 152, figs.4.9, 5.5;
J Boccador, 'Le Mobilier Français du Moyen Age a la Renaissance', 1988, p.227, figs.215-6.
Tables of this sort take their title from the shape of the stretcher, which bears similarity to the French Cross of Lorraine, which was initially called the Cross of Anjou, but following the marriage in 1431 of Isabelle of Lorraine to Rene I of Naples, or Rene d’Anjou, developed its new name. Along with a great deal of French Renaissance furniture design, tables ’en Croix de Lorraine’, which are commonly linked with the Loire Valley, undoubtedly take their influence from Italian architecture and the ideas of its artists and craftsmen who travelled to France to work at the court of Francis I, and subsequently his daughter-in-law, Catherine de’ Medici. This is most clearly seen in the supports of many known examples which take the form of Tuscan columns.
The present example was in the collection of Georges Hoentschel (1855-1915), the successful Parisian decorator and proprietor of Maison Leys. In 1906, the financier and president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, J Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) purchased a large number of objects from Hoentschel as a gift for the museum, including a collection of important 18th-century French decorative arts. Also loaned to the museum at the time, and eventually gifted on the death of J P Morgan by his son Jack, were pieces of medieval and Renaissance art, among which was this table. The Morgan Gift is credited for its pivotal role in establishing the Museum’s Department of Decorative Arts and we are extremely grateful to the Met for their assistance in the research and cataloguing of this lot.
For similar examples, see:
Christie's, 'The European Connoisseur', 4 June 2014, lot 588;
Christie's, 'Au Bord Du Lac: An interior by François-Joseph Graf', 26 January 2022, lot 41.
Take advantage of our Sworders Delivery Service. Please see 'Shipping estimate' below.
The Collection of the Late John Scott-Oldfield, 65 Warwick Square, London
John Scott-Oldfield was a lover of music, art and history, with an instinctive desire for adventure to faraway places. The interior of his flat at 65 Warwick Square encapsulates a thoughtful mixture of styles, from Renaissance Europe to Qing Dynasty China to Georgian England, representing the impact of his academic interests as well as his love of travel on his decorative aesthetic.
The collection is sure to generate huge interest among collectors, dealers and interior designers alike, and Sworders are privileged to have been asked to disperse his estate, which will be offered in three upcoming sales: Fine Interiors, Old Master, British & European Paintings and Asian Art.
Sold for £6,000
Condition Report
Image credit: Salt Images.
Apparent areas of replacement, repair and restoration throughout. Old knocks, scratches, stains, marks and traces of woodworm damage to the top. Repaired splits to the centres of each leaf. A few small patch repairs. Draw action working well. Two blocks beneath longest leaf replaced. Evidence of some further structural repairs and replacement to rails, blocks and apron, with historic woodworm damage, none of which appears to be active. Turned terminals later. Some knocks, wear and small losses to column supports, which also appear later. Some chips to corners of stepped bases. General wear, knocks and small losses to stretcher, with a few small areas of repair. Feet later. All joints solid and sound. Overall presents in usable condition.
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Auction: Fine Interiors - Two Day Sale, 14th Mar, 2023
The first Fine Interiors catalogue of the year is always particularly special for us, with the prospect of another twelve months of working with beautiful pieces of furniture and works of art, as well as having the opportunity to share our enthusiasm with the people behind the objects.
Included in this sale are nearly five hundred stylish lots representing the breadth of the decorative arts from the last five hundred years, as well as the appetite for incorporating them into a contemporary interior in order to create a welcoming environment. This notion is clearly exemplified in three private collections from town and country that we are privileged to be able to offer - those of the Late John Scott-Oldfield, Mrs Althea Lloyd and Sir John Craven.
We are hugely excited to share this sale with you all and hope that you take just as much enjoyment from browsing the online catalogue as we did in bringing it together.
Viewing
AUCTION VIEWING
Viewing will be held at our Stansted Auction Rooms, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet CM24 8GE, as follows:
Fri 10 March, 10am - 5pm
Sat 11 March, 10am - 2pm
Sun 12 March, 10am - 2pm
Mon 13 March, 10am - 5pm
All lots are, however, extensively illustrated and carry detailed condition reports - see 'Condition report' at the foot of each lot description.
Please note that this item is not suitable for a pre-sale automated shipping estimate due to the items weight/size.
The below table shows indicative shipping costs for larger items being delivered within the UK mainland. Please note that all the below costs are purely for indicative purposes and are to be used as a guideline only. If you purchase multiple large items, we will combine deliveries to reduce the shipping costs.
Should you be successful in buying this item, a specific shipping estimate will need to be requested after the sale using the link in your invoice email; this also includes all requests for international delivery.
If you would like further information about shipping and collection please see here.
Buying a pre-loved, antique, or vintage item not only provides you with unique style and value for money but it also helps to reduce landfill, and the annual emissions of an antique or vintage piece can be as little as one sixteenth of those of its new equivalent!
Sworders is proud to be supporting the work of Antiques are Green - the movement that was founded in 2009 to promote “a greener future created from the past”. Read their fascinating carbon footprint study of a Georgian chest of drawers versus a modern equivalent here
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