Carlton House desk
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1790
Materials
Mahogany, leather, giltmetal and brass.
Measurements
96 x 123 x 66 cm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Trelissick, Cornwall
NT 1296175
Summary
A mahogany ' Carlton House ' desk, English, circa 1790, with the distinctive stepped superstructure of ten small drawers and a pierced gilt-metal three-quarter gallery, surrounding a hinged leather writing surface and with two further drawers in the frieze, one with a lock stamped J.BRAMAH ,PICCADILLY and the other with a lock stamped J.W.NEEDS, NEW BOND ST, on turned tapering legs headed with a reeded collar and terminating in castors, with a large printed label to the underside 'KIRKWOOD', all handles appear original.
Full description
The precise origins of the term ' Carlton House desk ' are not clear, but a link with the Prince Regent and his furnishing projects at Carlton House is most likely. There is a rosewood Carlton House desk in the Collections at Buckingham Palace, possibly commissioned originally for Carlton House. Both Hepplewhite and Shearer published designs for such a desk in 1792 and 1793 and Sheraton also illustrates a similar desk in his 'Cabinet Maker's and Upholsterer's Drawing Book' of 1793, plate 60, entitled a 'Lady's Drawing and Writing table'. Gillow's were the first firm to use the term in their Cost Books of 1796.
Provenance
Purchased by Leonard Cunliffe (1860-1937), Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and step-father to Ida Copeland, from Pawsey & Payne, 1 Bury Street, St James, London on 7 June 1912 for £118 - 8s., who in turn purchased it from Christie's on commission on 6 June 1912 (Lot 123) for £115 - 10s., charging a commission of 2.5% to Mr. Cunliffe. Leonard Cunliffe took a lease on Trelissick the following year and finally purchased Trelissick in 1918. The desk was used daily by Ida Copeland for her constituency work as MP for Stoke-on-Trent in the 1930's. She and her husband Ronald Copeland moved to Trelissick in 1948. Purchased from William Copeland via Bonhams at the Contents of Trelissick House auction, 23rd-24th July 2013, Lot 85.
Marks and inscriptions
Underside of desk: KIRKWOOD
References
Sheraton, Thomas,. The cabinet-maker and upholsterer's drawing-book. In three parts. 1793., plate 60