Display case
attributed to William Linnell (1703-1763)
Category
Furniture
Date
C. 1758
Materials
Beech, lime, gilding and lacquer
Measurements
188 x 138 x 43 cm
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire
NT 108631
Caption
A stunning piece of John Linnell chinoiserie furniture, decorated in Chinese black and gold lacquered river scenes and buildings.
Summary
An open display case, attributed to William Linnell (1703-1763) & John Linnell (1729-1796) London (carvers, cabinet makers and upholders). Probably commissioned by Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 5th Baronet (1726-1804, later 1st Lord Scarsdale), circa 1758, for Audley Square, London. With an open canopy to the top in the shape of a miniature chinoiserie (or Chinese-style) pavilion, flanked by a pair of miniature parasols hung with bells on naturalistic rock bases. The three shelves of breakfront outline with pierced fretwork galleries and held by trellis work supports raised on square section fret work legs and block feet. The panels backing the shelves consisting of sections of Chinese export lacquer decorated with landscape scenes in shades of gold on black taken from tabletops or from other pieces of Chinese-made furniture, each shelf having three very similar panels.
Full description
It seems likely that the display case was commissioned for Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 5th Baronet's London House at Audley Square. It is similar to a commission by the Duke of Beaufort for a bedroom suite for the Chinese bedroom at Badminton House, South Gloucestershire, designed and supplied by the workshops of William and John Linnell, circa 1752. This was one of the earliest 'bedroom suites' and included a bed with pagoda canopy with other items of furniture made to match. The V&A collection has the bed, a cabinet from the set (W.55-1952) and two armchairs (W.33 and W.34-1990). During the 1740s and 1750s, Chinese-inspired furniture was very fashionable in Britain. Engravers and aspiring cabinetmakers ranging from Battey Langley to Thomas Chippendale included designs for Chinese furniture. Joseph Goupy designed an octagonal House of Confucius at Kew, with walls made up of open lattice work. In 1750, William Halfpenny published New Designs for Chinese Temples, which included this type of Chinese lattice work. Elizabeth Montagu (née Robinson, 1718–1800), the patron, writer and hostess, had a Chinese room at her own house in Hill Street, St. James's, decorated with very similar pieces of furniture by William Linnell. From the late seventeenth century, as the importation of Japanese lacquer into Europe declined, gold-on-black lacquer was also produced in the southern Chinese port city of Guangzhou (Canton) specifically for European buyers. On arrival in Europe the Chinese lacquer objects were often taken apart and the lacquer incorporated into European furniture. In this case the lacquer panels appear to have been taken from three virtually identical objects, as the imagery is repeated three times. To match the Chinese lacquer, the English-made parts of the display case were decorated with japanning (i.e. using European materials to imitate Asian lacquer). In addition, the trellis work or paling in the sides imitates the patterns found on the backs of certain Chinese chairs made for export. The miniature pavilion and parasols on the top, moreover, evoke the fanciful Chinese-style garden pavilions which were highly fashionable in England around this time. James Weedon (May 2018) and Emile de Bruijn and Megan Wheeler (June 2024)
Provenance
Probably made by William Linnell (1703-63) for the house of Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 5th Baronet (1726-1804), at Audley Square, London, c.1758; transferred to Kedleston Hall some time in the latter years of 18th century; purchased by the National Heritage Memorial Fund from Francis Curzon, 3rd Viscount Scarsdale (1924-2000), 1987, and placed on loan to the National Trust at Kedleston Hall; purchased by the National Trust, 1988.
Marks and inscriptions
n
Makers and roles
attributed to William Linnell (1703-1763), cabinetmaker attributed to John Linnell (1729 - 1796), designer attributed to William Linnell (1703-1763), furniture designer
References
Kirkman, Pat 'The careers of William and John Linnell' FHS Hayward and Kirkham, 1980: Helena Hayward and Pat Kirkham. William and John Linnell, eighteenth century London furniture makers. London: Studio Vista in association with Christie’s, 1980. Macquoid, Percy, A history of English furniture /, MCMXXV-MCMXXVIII 1925-28