Dressing table
attributed to Gillow and Co.
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1820
Materials
Mahogany, oak, deal, brass
Measurements
81.5 x 122 x 45 cm
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Belton House, Lincolnshire
NT 435131
Summary
A mahogany bow front dressing table, attributed to Gillow & Co. London, circa 1820. The shallow three quarter gallery above a convex central drawer flanked by two small drawers to one side and a cupboard to the other faced as two further drawers. With turned pilasters and turned legs, brass castors.
Full description
Gillow(s), Lancaster and London; cabinet makers, furnishers and upholsterers (c.1730 - after 1840) The firm of Gillow(s) was based in Lancaster although a full London branch had been established in Oxford St. from 1769 trading as Gillow & Co.Previously unrecorded receipts in the Belton archive provide a fascinating insight into the professional relationship between Gillow & Co. and Lord Brownlow between the years 1810-1833.The receipts not only document furniture made and supplied to Belton but also list textiles, carpets, curtain pelmets, window cornices and other furnishings. They list colour schemes, fabrics and linings down to the detail of tassels and fringes on cushions. The time taken by their men to fit and furnish the house ‘incidents and men’s time cutting out and making up’ and the packing and cartage required to move goods from London as well as correspondence regarding details and payments give us a new perspective on the relationship between craftsman and patron.It is not always possible to match furniture and furnishings to the receipts but through research and previously published Gillow designs some attributions can be made with confidence. For further discussion and extensive research see: Stuart, Susan 'Gillows of Lancaster and London 1730 - 1840' (2008) 2 vols.A chest of drawers in the Yellow Bedroom at Belton (NT435123) has identical turned pilasters and may also have been supplied by Gillow and Co. in 1820. There are several dressing tables in the accounts but the bill dated July1820 lists 'A neat mahogany table for dressing room £4-13-6' and 'A good mahogany chest of drawers, round corners and stump feet £10-5-0'.James Weedon (January 2019)
Provenance
Probably supplied by Gillow & Co. London circa 1820. Purchased with a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) from Edward John Peregrine Cust, 7th Baron Brownlow (b.1936) in 1984.
Makers and roles
attributed to Gillow and Co., cabinetmaker
References
Stuart, Susan 'Gillows of Lancaster and London 1730 - 1840' (2008) 2 vols.