Fonthill Abbey Gothic Tables
Category
Furniture
Date
1810 - 1820
Materials
Oak, turned and carved
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Charlecote Park, Warwickshire
NT 532955
Summary
Four Gothic tables, from a set of six, in carved oak, the rectangular top above a frieze of diamond carved moldings with similarly decorated baluster-turned legs headed by the Beckford Latimer cross to each corner, terminated in bun feet joined by a stretcher. The form of these tables is directly inspired by the sixteenth century English joint stools. It as been suggested that they could have been designed by James or Jeffrey Wyatt (see Beckford Exh. cat., no 86 by M.P. Levy). They were made especially for William Beckford (1760-1844) at Fonthill Abbey as part of the furnishing of the Edward the Third Gallery as visible on the illustration of the Gallery published by Rutter (1823). They were described by the latter as "six oak stands" (1822). The William Beckford's Latimer Cross also appeared on the ceiling panels and beside the fireplace as well as on the base of the magnificent marble top table in King Edward's Gallery. The marble table also went to Charlecote and can be seen in the Great Hall (NT 532954). The Latimer cross is similar to the Cross Crosslet of the Lucy crest and might explain why George Hammond Lucy kept the Gothic base and acquired the side tables (see C.Wainwright). Four of these small tables were acquired by George Hammond Lucy (1789-1845) at the legendary Fonthill Abbey sale held by Harry Phillips in 1823. They were described in the catalogue as follows (lot 477-478): "A pair of small Gothic tables, finely carved in oak (...) A pair of ditto, en-suite". They were sold for "£16.5.6d" and "16.16.0d" respectively. As for the magnificent table, they were displayed in the Great Hall. Two tables are shown as they still stand today in the lithograph depicting the Great Hall at Charlecote, dated 1845, by F W Hulme after J G Jackson.
Provenance
Fonthill Abbey, King Edward's Gallery. Purchased by George Hammond Lucy at the Fonthill Abbey Sale, 1823 (lots 477-478). The Great Hall at Charlecote, depicted by F.W Hulme (1841) and in S.C Hall, The Baronial Halls and Picturesque Edifices of England (1848). Presented to the National Trust by Sir Montgomerie Fairfax-Lucy (1896 - 1965), two years after the death of his father, Sir Henry Ramsay-Fairfax, 3rd Bt (1870 – 1944), with Charlecote Park and its chief contents, in 1946.
References
Wainwright, 1989: Clive Wainwright, The romantic interior: the British collector at home, 1750-1850. Studies in British Art. New Haven; London: Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art by Yale University Press, 1989. [Charlecote pp.208-240] Ostergard 2001 : D.E Ostergard, B.McLeod, A. Turpin (and other contributors) : William Beckford, 1760-1844 : An Eye for the Magnificent, Exhibition October 2001-April 2002, The Bard Graduate Center, New York and The Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, 2001