.jpg?w=1)
拍品专文
This chimneypiece and overmantel were removed from Eaton Hall, the principal seat of the Dukes of Westminster. The Hall has had several significant transformations since the fifteenth century when a moated manor house was first recorded. In 1675, the architect Richard Samwell designed a substantial Baroque residence which remained largely unchanged until 1802, when William Porden was employed to update and enlarge Eaton Hall in the height of the fashionable 'Gothick' style. This version was short-lived, as by 1870, Hugh Grosvenor (1825-1899), now 1st Duke of Westminster, commissioned the architect, Alfred Waterhouse to create a vast palace; upon completion, it was considered among the most magnificent, opulent residences in England. After its demolishment in 1963, a considerably smaller Eaton Hall was rebuilt.
The various renovations of Eaton Hall somewhat obscure the origins for this overmantel and chimneypiece. Though they were sold as one lot in the 1961 Jackson-Stops auction and illustrated in situ in room 109 of the Japanese suite, the matching chimneypiece to the overmantel was sold in a 1992 auction of further fixtures from Eaton Hall (Sotheby's House Sale, 21 September 1992, lot 121). It is unclear when the two pieces were separated, and due to the sheer vastness of Eaton Hall which included over 150 bedrooms, all three pieces certainly could have been purchased and installed during Waterhouse's renovation since the demand for additional interior paneling would have been immense.
Another possibility is that the original matching overmantel and chimneypiece as well as the offered chimneypiece were commissioned by one of the Barons Grosvenor for Eaton Hall and later broken up and installed separately. If so, they were either commissioned by Robert Grosvenor (1695-1755), 6th Baronet, who moved to Eaton Hall when he inherited the title in 1732, or his elder brother, Richard (1689-1732), 4th Baronet. Intriguingly, a chimneypiece removed from Sutton Scarsdale with virtually identical supports of garlanded term figures in profile, could indicate a potential maker for the overmantel and matching chimneypiece. Edward Poynton (d.1737), a Nottingham carver, was listed on a lead plaque as 'gentleman carver' among the fifteen master tradesmen responsible for building and furnishing the residence. There, Poynton was responsible for the Oak Room which is now at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (G. Beard and C. Gilbert, The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, Leeds, 1986, p. 711).
The various renovations of Eaton Hall somewhat obscure the origins for this overmantel and chimneypiece. Though they were sold as one lot in the 1961 Jackson-Stops auction and illustrated in situ in room 109 of the Japanese suite, the matching chimneypiece to the overmantel was sold in a 1992 auction of further fixtures from Eaton Hall (Sotheby's House Sale, 21 September 1992, lot 121). It is unclear when the two pieces were separated, and due to the sheer vastness of Eaton Hall which included over 150 bedrooms, all three pieces certainly could have been purchased and installed during Waterhouse's renovation since the demand for additional interior paneling would have been immense.
Another possibility is that the original matching overmantel and chimneypiece as well as the offered chimneypiece were commissioned by one of the Barons Grosvenor for Eaton Hall and later broken up and installed separately. If so, they were either commissioned by Robert Grosvenor (1695-1755), 6th Baronet, who moved to Eaton Hall when he inherited the title in 1732, or his elder brother, Richard (1689-1732), 4th Baronet. Intriguingly, a chimneypiece removed from Sutton Scarsdale with virtually identical supports of garlanded term figures in profile, could indicate a potential maker for the overmantel and matching chimneypiece. Edward Poynton (d.1737), a Nottingham carver, was listed on a lead plaque as 'gentleman carver' among the fifteen master tradesmen responsible for building and furnishing the residence. There, Poynton was responsible for the Oak Room which is now at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (G. Beard and C. Gilbert, The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, Leeds, 1986, p. 711).