ATTRIBUTED TO INCE AND MAYHEW, CIRCA 1780

A SPECIAL ‘GRAND TOUR’ COMMISSION
This extraordinary pair of cabinets was specially designed to show off a splendid array of Italian reverse-glass paintings depicting various buildings and landmarks from the ancient and modern world, which were undoubtedly acquired as Grand Tour memorabilia. The paintings are after designs by some of the most quoted printmakers including Maarten van Heemskerck (1498-1574), Maerten De Vos (1532-1603), and Lieven Cruyl (1634-1720). The cabinets, firmly attributed to the Golden Square partnership of Messrs. Ince and Mayhew, echo the classical themes of the paintings with their domed pediments and central segments evocative of temples, centered by an arched panel flanked by ionic columns beneath a dentilled frieze. The use of exotic timbers, such as satinwood and amaranth in this instance, is a common characteristic in the firm’s oeuvre. Likewise is the clever inclusion of concealed compartments, such as the discreetly opening doors on either side of the cabinets, which reveal a series of small drawers.

From 1764, Ince and Mayhew worked with Robert Adam on several notable commissions, culminating in their 'ability to produce very early on furniture in the most startling advanced Neo-classical taste' (G. Beard and C. Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, Leeds, 1986, p. 592). Indeed, this pair of cabinets closely relate to the Kimbolton Cabinet, ‘one of the most celebrated pieces of English neoclassical furniture in existence’ (H. Roberts and C. Cator, Industry and Ingenuity: The Partnership of William Ince and John Mayhew, London, 2022, p. 162). The 4th Duke of Manchester (1737-1788) commissioned Robert Adam to design the ‘highly individual’ cabinet for his wife Elizabeth Montagu, Duchess of Manchester. It was also created to display Grand Tour memorabilia, in this case a set of 11 Florentine pietra dura panels (ibid.). The 4th Duke commissioned Ince and Mayhew to make the cabinet around 1774, presumably once the design was finalized. The firm chose to partner with Boulton and Fothergill to supply the their finest quality ormolu mounts to the specified design (ibid., pp. 162-163). The masterful fusion of Grand Tour panels seamlessly integrated into the architectural cabinet, further adorned with ormolu accents and refined satinwood and rosewood marquetry was together exemplary of the firm’s best work of the 1770s, and the commissioner of this pair of cabinets, which are a more sober manifestation of the concept, surely must have been inspired by it.

POSSIBLE PROVENANCE
The early provenance of these cabinets remain a mystery that, when solved, will undoubtedly provide a key link in unravelling an as yet unidentified Ince and Mayhew commission. In 1964 they were sold from Northwick Park, Gloucestershire. At the time the sale was known for the collections, notably of Old Masters, formed by Captain E.G. Spencer Churchill, M.C. (1876-1964). Exactly what at Northwick had been collected by Captain Spencer-Churchill and what had been inherited is impossible to guess. There were three other lots in the sale that suggest a wider Ince and Mayhew commission: a demi-lune satinwood commode, a chamber organ, and a satinwood and floral marquetry breakfront bookcase (most recently sold: 50 Years of Collecting; Christie’s, London, 14 May 2003, lot 40, for £229,250). If it emerged that these were indeed from an earlier commission, there are at least two possible sources.

The first possibility is that the cabinets were commissioned for Northwick. Captain Spencer-Churchill inherited Northwick from his mother's family, the Rushouts, Barons Northwick. It is possible that some of the furniture survived the colossal Northwick collection sales of 1859. Any commission from Ince and Mayhew would possibly have been by John Rushout, 1st Baron Northwick (1738-1800).

While a Rushout-Northwick commission is conceivable, it does seem less likely than the alternative. Captain Spencer-Churchill was great-great grandson of the 4th Duke of Marlborough (d.1817) who was a long term client of the firm, at Blenheim Palace and probably for his son at Whiteknights, near Reading (H. Roberts, 'Furniture for the 4th Duke of Marlborough', Furniture History, 1994, pp. 130-139). It seems more likely that the four lots attributable to Ince and Mayhew at Northwick Park in 1964 had descended to Captain Spencer-Churchill as remnants of this branch of his family's enormous commission, rather than their having remained in Northwick throughout.