Bookcase
John Ferguson
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1805
Materials
Mahogany, ebonized wood, oak, brass
Measurements
252.2 x 200 x 52.1 cm
Place of origin
Northern Ireland
Order this imageCollection
Mount Stewart, County Down
NT 1220575.4
Summary
A mahogany and inlaid bookcase, one of a suite of six, of various sizes, Irish, circa 1805, probably made by John Ferguson, with a shaped and reeded cornice above a band of inlaid oak disc, the plain frieze centred with a small square panel, the panel with a gilt-painted 'D', the lower edge of the frieze applied with an oak rim, a pair of open panel doors hinged from the centre rather than the outer edges, the doors formerly glazed now with grille panels, the door frames with ebonized banding to the inner and outer edges, the interior of the bookcase with a central divider and each section with four adjustable shelves, the lower section topped with a black-painted ledge surface above a pair of rectangular cupboard doors, the door fronts with crossbanding and with ebonized inlay of an oval within a rectangle, these cupboard doors also hinged from the centre, the lower section sides with similar inlay to the lower cupboard doors, the plain plinth base with a reeded oak band along the top. John Ferguson was a carpenter/architect who worked for the Londonderry family at Mount Stewart from circa 1782. Listed in 'An Inventory of the Household Furniture belonging to the Most Noble the Marquis of Londonderry taken at Mount Stewart Sept. 1821' are '6 Mahogany Bookcases Inlayed and Full of Books'. These were listed in 1821 as being in the Library (later Lady Londonderry's sitting room) but were moved to Lord Londonderry's sitting room.
Provenance
Gifted to the National Trust from Lady Mairi Bury (1921-2009), 1976.
Makers and roles
John Ferguson, maker