CIRCA 1750

Details

AN IRISH GEORGE II MAHOGANY SIDE TABLE
CIRCA 1750
The rectangular top above a later egg-and-dart border and with diaper ground frieze, the front with large central finely carved lion's mask flanked by oak leaf swags, on acanthus-carved cabriole legs and lion paw feet, the 18th Century top possibly original and rotated but now lacking molded edge
33 ¾ in. (86 cm.) high, 66 in. (168 cm.) wide, 27 ½ in. (70 cm.) deep

Provenance

With Mrs. Brady, Liffey Street, Dublin.
Purchased by Mervyn, 7th Viscount Powerscourt (d. 1904) for Powerscourt, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, Ireland.
Thence by descent to the 9th Viscount until sold with the house to Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Slazenger in 1961.
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Slazenger, Powerscourt, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, Ireland, sold Christie's House sale, 24-25 September 1984, lot 476.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 21 January 1999, lot 321.

Literature

7th Viscount Powerscourt, A Description and History of Powerscourt, 1903, p. 34.
D. Guinness and W. Ryan, Irish Houses & Castles, New York, 1971, p. 27 (detail of lion mask).

Special notice

This Lot is transferred to Christie’s Redstone Post-Sale Facility in Long Island City after 5.00 pm on the last day of the sale. They will be available at Redstone on the following Monday. Property may be transferred at Christie’s discretion following the sale and we advise that you contact Purchaser Payments on +1 212 636 2495 to confirm your property’s location at any given time.

Lot Essay

Powerscourt, one of Ireland's great historic homes, was granted to the Wingfield family by James I in 1609 and the house and formal gardens were largely redesigned by the architect Richard Castle in the 1730's and 1740's. The 7th Viscount (d.1904) who acquired this table for Powerscourt was an inveterate collector and well-known connoisseur who spent considerable sums ornamenting the house, its interiors and gardens. He was deeply involved in the National Gallery of Ireland, Chairman of the Art Union of Ireland, President of the Royal Dublin Society and an avid supporter of the Royal Hibernian Academy.

The 7th Viscount's memoir, Description and History of Powerscourt, published in 1903, is a particularly valuable resource that details the history of this magnificent house. Lord Powerscourt recounts his purchase of this table from Mrs. Brady in Liffey Street (p.34) - I was looking at it and admiring it, and I offered her less than the price she put upon it, and she said 'Oh! now you had better take it; you will never see another like it, and the General will be here directly and he will have it soon enough' - the General being the late Gereal Charles Crawford Frazer, V.C., at the time commanding the troops in Dublin.

A similar table is illustrated in D. Fitzgerald, Irish Furniture, The Irish Heritage Series, no. 16, 1978, fig. 11.

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