Pier glass
William Bradshaw (1700 - 1775)
Category
Mirrors
Date
1743
Materials
Carved and gilded softwood, glass
Measurements
82.6 cm (H); 63.8 cm (W)
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Ham House, Surrey
NT 1140115.2
Summary
A pier glass, from a pair, en suite with a pair of pier tables (NT 1139880.1-2), provided by William Bradshaw in 1743, formed of an oval mirror set in a frame headed by scrolling acanthus leaves simulating feathers issuing fruits and floral garlands. There is a large shell finial issuing further acanthus scrolls. These mirrors were made to stand in the Queen's Bed Chamber, above the pier tables, both pairs provided by Bradshaw in June 1743, to be fixed to the 1673 panels, as part of the transformations realised for Lionel Tollemache, 4th Earl of Dysart.
Provenance
Bradshaw's account shows that he provided on 29 June 1743 : "2 Rich carved and gilt oval glasses £28.10.0; 2 Ditto tables £24; Black and yellow Marble tops £8.2.6" (BPA 925). The 4th Earl's Account Book records the payment on 5 May 1744 (BPA 930). Acquired in 1948 by HM Government when Sir Lyonel, 4th Bt (1854 – 1952) and Sir Cecil Tollemache, 5th Bt (1886 – 1969) presented Ham House to the National Trust, and entrusted to the care of the Victoria & Albert Museum, until 1990, when returned to the care of the National Trust, and to which ownership was transferred in 2002.
Makers and roles
William Bradshaw (1700 - 1775), cabinetmaker
References
Rowell 2013: Christopher Rowell (ed.), Ham House, 400 Years of Collecting and Patronage, Yale University Press, New Haven & London 2013, p.93