Baldock / Beckford Side Cabinet
attributed to Edward Holmes Baldock (1777 - 1845)
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1815 - 1820
Materials
Oak carcass, ebonised wood, ebony veneer, gilt bronze mounts and portor marble top
Measurements
104.2 x 95.3 x 43 cm
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Charlecote Park, Warwickshire
NT 533019.2
Summary
A side cabinet, from a pair, in oak and ebonised wood, veneered with ebony, mounted with gilt bronzes and incorporating seventeenth century French or Dutch cabinet carved panels as doors, the front depicting the Adoration of the Magi, the reverse with engraved floral bouquets and branches, each door panel flanked by a pair of columns surmounted by ionic capitals, on a stepped base, England, circa 1815-1820, attributed to E.H Baldock, made for William Beckford (1760-1844). Acquired by George Hammond Lucy (1789-1845) for £147.0.0 at the legendary William Beckford's Fonthill Abbey sale held by Harry Phillips in 1823. It was described in the catalogue as follows (lot 1144-1145): "A superb console of ebony with carved door, supported on each side by ebony columns with or-moulu caps, bases and mouldings, and black gold marble slab". "Aditto. The companion". At Charlecote, they were described by Mary Elizabeth Lucy in her biography of the Lucy family in 1862 when they were placed in the Drawing Room "on each side of the fireplace". Although Robert Hume Junior is known to have supplied ebony furniture to Beckford and pieces such as as the pietre dure cabinet at Charlecote (NT 533017), this pair is traditionally attributed to Edward Holmes Baldock (1777-1845). Balcock was also a regular supplier to William Beckford and composite pieces as such, re-using old panels, adjusted onto a new carcass are typical of his workshop production. The sideboard at Charlecote (NT) is a good example of such practice. As recorded by G.de Bellaigue, at the sale of Baldock's premises in 1843 many reclaimed parts such as "ebony doors...carved in subjects" and various fragments: "columns" or "pillars" are listed.
Provenance
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.
Makers and roles
attributed to Edward Holmes Baldock (1777 - 1845), dealer Edward Holmes Baldock (1777 - 1845), cabinetmaker
References
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, cat no 86 De Bellaigue, 1975 : Geoffrey de Bellaigue, "Edward Holmes Baldock", The Connoisseur, August and September 1975, pp.290-299; pp18-25.