Gladstone cabinets to fetch half a million at Bonhams London 27 June
Published June 2nd, 2006
Bonhams
A fine pair of early 19th century ormolu-mounted ebony cabinets belonging to the family of the Victorian Prime Minister William Gladstone (1808 - 98) is to be sold at Bonhams Sale of Fine English and Continental Furniture at 101 New Bond Street on 27 June. They are expected to fetch between £300,000 - 500,000.
These cabinets are attributed to master craftsmen Georges Jacob (1739 -1814) and his son François-Honoré-Georges Jacob Desmalter (1770 - 1841), who were principal suppliers of fine furniture to the sumptuous residences of Napoleon and George IV. They are an exquisite example of the taste for exotic and unusual style and material so prolific in the early 19th century. Set within the marble-topped ebony cabinets are black and gold lacquer panels intricately decorated with pheasants and finches amongst flora and fauna. These panels date from the late 17th century and were originally made in Japan.
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