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Lot Essay
LACQUER MASTERPIECES BY GILES GRENDEY, LOTS 22 AND 23
This rare and magnificent lacquer bureau cabinet and its matching chest is the only surviving set of its type known to exist. They are attributed to the celebrated cabinet-maker Giles Grendey (1693-1780) and represent the pinnacle of his oeuvre. Grendey’s lavish, intricately and whimsically detailed japanned furniture has been continuously prized by renowned collectors and connoisseurs of English furniture; the famed scarlet japanned suite he supplied to the Duke of Infantado for Castle Lazcano in Northern Spain around 1740 is considered one of the most important suites of English furniture ever made. Essentially unknown for centuries until their sale in the contents from two villas owned by members of the Pallavicini family, the Villa Negrotto Cambioso and the Villa Durazzo Pallavicini, this extraordinary set may well represent one of Grendey’s most significant commissions to an Italian patron who was clearly fascinated with the exotic art of the Far East.
Grendey ran a substantial business from 1726 when he took on his first apprentices until at least the late 1760s; in 1766 he was appointed Master of the Joiners' Company. Described at his wife's death as a 'great Dealer in the Cabinet way', in 1755 at the time of his daughter's marriage to the Royal cabinet-maker, John Cobb (d. 1778), he was referred to as an 'eminent Timber Merchant'. While few payments to him have been traced in country house archives, he supplied a good number of walnut and mahogany pieces to aristocratic houses including Longford Castle, Stourhead and Barn Elms. Unlike his fellow cabinet-makers, Grendey was also deeply involved in the timber and export business, which may have led to his production of japanned furniture for the export trade, notably for the Iberian peninsula where such work was much in demand. Accounts in the Public Record Office indicate that England exported considerable quantities of furniture to Spain and Portugal in the first half of the eighteenth century. Grendey clearly had a substantial export business as early as 1731, when a fire on his premises resulted in an enormous loss of £1,000 in furniture which he 'had pack'd for Exportation against the next Morning' (R. W. Symonds, 'Giles Grendey and the Export Trade of English Furniture to Spain,’ Apollo, 1935, pp. 337-342). Recently discovered labeled mirrors in Norway also indicate that Grendey exported goods to Scandinavia.
THE DESIGN
The form of the bureau cabinet was an English invention developed in the 17th century which soon found favor in many countries in both North and South Europe, with the notable exception of France. The English influence was strengthened in Continental Europe after the Treatise on Japanning was published in England in 1668 by Messrs. Stalker and Parker, which provided a series of images appropriate for artists imitating Eastern lacquer. In Dresden, the bureau-cabinet came to be known as an Englischer Schreibschrank and soon became the most important piece in the cabinet-makers oeuvre, although it was likely that many examples were still made in England by Grendey and other cabinet-makers and transported abroad. Links to the decoration on the Getty bureau cabinet and matching chest can be seen in Grendey’s celebrated Infantado suite. It was the most extensive suite Grendey ever made and consisted of more than seventy-seven scarlet-japanned items including seat furniture en suite with 'pier-set' card-tables, mirrors and secretaire-cabinets. Two chairs from this suite are in the Getty collection (Lot 568) and other pieces are in the collections of the foremost museums in the world, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Temple Newsam House, Leeds; and the Museo de las Artes Decorativas, Madrid. The suite’s decoration which combines large scale figures, fantastical beasts, shells, strapwork and diapered panels is strikingly similar to the Getty cabinet and chest as seen in the card table at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (37.114) and chairs. (C. Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, 1996, p. 248, pl. 448).
The detail and density of the japanning on this bureau cabinet and matching chest is complimented by their hardware which is perhaps the richest and most unique ever seen on English japanned furniture. The lavish foliate cartouche-form handles and sculptural pins in the form of nautilus shells blend seamlessly into the decoration and echo the cartouches in the gilt bases. The bureau cabinet’s swelling ‘sarcophagus’ form is incredibly rare in Grendey’s oeuvre. For the few related bureau cabinets, three have foreign provenance which could suggest this form was specifically created for export. Two were for the Spanish market of which one was from the Estate of Mrs. Diego Suarez sold at Christie’s, New York, 7 June 1980 and again sold anonymously at Sotheby’s, New York 25 January 1997, lot 221 ($420,500); the other bureau cabinet was sold at Christie’s, Madrid, 16-17 May 1974 and illustrated in Christie’s Review of the Season 1974 (p.415). The third example shares the green ground of the Getty examples and was with Ronald Phillips, London. Other examples include one sold anonymously at Christie’s, New York, 20 April 2018, lot 10 ($324,500) and a walnut and parcel gilt bureau cabinet sold in the Hochschild Collection at Sotheby’s, London, 1 December 1978, lot 13 (£30,000).
THE PROVENANCE
As some of the richest works Grendey is thought to have produced, this bureau cabinet and matching chest are an accurate reflection of the wealth and power of the Pallavicini. Although it is not yet known when they came into the family, the Pallavicinis have a documented history of acquiring English japanned furniture. Four early 18th century English bureau cabinets and a chair are part of a larger suite at the Palazzo Pallavicini in Rome which were presumably commissioned by Giovanni Battista Rospigliosi Pallavicini (d. 1722) (Hans Huth, Lacquer of the West, London, 1971, p.84 and pls, 57-58 and 84) after he purchased the Palazzo in 1704. English japanned furniture was clearly an object of enduring fascination for this family as a George II japanned tall case clock offered at Christie’s, London, 19 July 2021 had a label stating 'proprietario signor marchese Andrea Pallavicini Ramudan' on the back of the front door, presenting yet another tantalizing connection.
The Genoese Giovanni Battista Pallavicini (d.1742) is also a compelling candidate for commissioning these works. A trading center, Genoa was also one of the few Italian regions which did not have a strong tradition of japanned or lacquered furniture. It is certainly possible that the Villa Negrotto Cambioso Villa Durazzo Pallavicini, both located in or very close to Genoa, would have been occupied by his descendants who could have sold these rare and unique works.
This rare and magnificent lacquer bureau cabinet and its matching chest is the only surviving set of its type known to exist. They are attributed to the celebrated cabinet-maker Giles Grendey (1693-1780) and represent the pinnacle of his oeuvre. Grendey’s lavish, intricately and whimsically detailed japanned furniture has been continuously prized by renowned collectors and connoisseurs of English furniture; the famed scarlet japanned suite he supplied to the Duke of Infantado for Castle Lazcano in Northern Spain around 1740 is considered one of the most important suites of English furniture ever made. Essentially unknown for centuries until their sale in the contents from two villas owned by members of the Pallavicini family, the Villa Negrotto Cambioso and the Villa Durazzo Pallavicini, this extraordinary set may well represent one of Grendey’s most significant commissions to an Italian patron who was clearly fascinated with the exotic art of the Far East.
Grendey ran a substantial business from 1726 when he took on his first apprentices until at least the late 1760s; in 1766 he was appointed Master of the Joiners' Company. Described at his wife's death as a 'great Dealer in the Cabinet way', in 1755 at the time of his daughter's marriage to the Royal cabinet-maker, John Cobb (d. 1778), he was referred to as an 'eminent Timber Merchant'. While few payments to him have been traced in country house archives, he supplied a good number of walnut and mahogany pieces to aristocratic houses including Longford Castle, Stourhead and Barn Elms. Unlike his fellow cabinet-makers, Grendey was also deeply involved in the timber and export business, which may have led to his production of japanned furniture for the export trade, notably for the Iberian peninsula where such work was much in demand. Accounts in the Public Record Office indicate that England exported considerable quantities of furniture to Spain and Portugal in the first half of the eighteenth century. Grendey clearly had a substantial export business as early as 1731, when a fire on his premises resulted in an enormous loss of £1,000 in furniture which he 'had pack'd for Exportation against the next Morning' (R. W. Symonds, 'Giles Grendey and the Export Trade of English Furniture to Spain,’ Apollo, 1935, pp. 337-342). Recently discovered labeled mirrors in Norway also indicate that Grendey exported goods to Scandinavia.
THE DESIGN
The form of the bureau cabinet was an English invention developed in the 17th century which soon found favor in many countries in both North and South Europe, with the notable exception of France. The English influence was strengthened in Continental Europe after the Treatise on Japanning was published in England in 1668 by Messrs. Stalker and Parker, which provided a series of images appropriate for artists imitating Eastern lacquer. In Dresden, the bureau-cabinet came to be known as an Englischer Schreibschrank and soon became the most important piece in the cabinet-makers oeuvre, although it was likely that many examples were still made in England by Grendey and other cabinet-makers and transported abroad. Links to the decoration on the Getty bureau cabinet and matching chest can be seen in Grendey’s celebrated Infantado suite. It was the most extensive suite Grendey ever made and consisted of more than seventy-seven scarlet-japanned items including seat furniture en suite with 'pier-set' card-tables, mirrors and secretaire-cabinets. Two chairs from this suite are in the Getty collection (Lot 568) and other pieces are in the collections of the foremost museums in the world, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Temple Newsam House, Leeds; and the Museo de las Artes Decorativas, Madrid. The suite’s decoration which combines large scale figures, fantastical beasts, shells, strapwork and diapered panels is strikingly similar to the Getty cabinet and chest as seen in the card table at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (37.114) and chairs. (C. Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, 1996, p. 248, pl. 448).
The detail and density of the japanning on this bureau cabinet and matching chest is complimented by their hardware which is perhaps the richest and most unique ever seen on English japanned furniture. The lavish foliate cartouche-form handles and sculptural pins in the form of nautilus shells blend seamlessly into the decoration and echo the cartouches in the gilt bases. The bureau cabinet’s swelling ‘sarcophagus’ form is incredibly rare in Grendey’s oeuvre. For the few related bureau cabinets, three have foreign provenance which could suggest this form was specifically created for export. Two were for the Spanish market of which one was from the Estate of Mrs. Diego Suarez sold at Christie’s, New York, 7 June 1980 and again sold anonymously at Sotheby’s, New York 25 January 1997, lot 221 ($420,500); the other bureau cabinet was sold at Christie’s, Madrid, 16-17 May 1974 and illustrated in Christie’s Review of the Season 1974 (p.415). The third example shares the green ground of the Getty examples and was with Ronald Phillips, London. Other examples include one sold anonymously at Christie’s, New York, 20 April 2018, lot 10 ($324,500) and a walnut and parcel gilt bureau cabinet sold in the Hochschild Collection at Sotheby’s, London, 1 December 1978, lot 13 (£30,000).
THE PROVENANCE
As some of the richest works Grendey is thought to have produced, this bureau cabinet and matching chest are an accurate reflection of the wealth and power of the Pallavicini. Although it is not yet known when they came into the family, the Pallavicinis have a documented history of acquiring English japanned furniture. Four early 18th century English bureau cabinets and a chair are part of a larger suite at the Palazzo Pallavicini in Rome which were presumably commissioned by Giovanni Battista Rospigliosi Pallavicini (d. 1722) (Hans Huth, Lacquer of the West, London, 1971, p.84 and pls, 57-58 and 84) after he purchased the Palazzo in 1704. English japanned furniture was clearly an object of enduring fascination for this family as a George II japanned tall case clock offered at Christie’s, London, 19 July 2021 had a label stating 'proprietario signor marchese Andrea Pallavicini Ramudan' on the back of the front door, presenting yet another tantalizing connection.
The Genoese Giovanni Battista Pallavicini (d.1742) is also a compelling candidate for commissioning these works. A trading center, Genoa was also one of the few Italian regions which did not have a strong tradition of japanned or lacquered furniture. It is certainly possible that the Villa Negrotto Cambioso Villa Durazzo Pallavicini, both located in or very close to Genoa, would have been occupied by his descendants who could have sold these rare and unique works.