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PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE LORD AND LADY JOHN CHOLMONDELEY (LOTS 263 - 268)The following includes works of art from the remarkable collection of the early-20th century connoisseur and aesthete Sir Philip Sassoon, 3rd Baronet (1888-1939). Sassoon inherited a fortune and the magnificent art collections of his maternal grandfather, Baron Gustave de Rothschild (d.1911) and his father, Sir Edward Sassoon (d.1912). He substantially refined these by purchasing and selling artworks to create exotic rooms filled with lacquer and japanned furniture at his neo-Georgian country house, Trent Park, Hertfordshire, where lots 266 and 267 were photographed for Country Life (January 10 & 17, 1931, these particular images unpublished). Christopher Hussey of Country Life praised Sassoon for having caught `that indefinable and elusive quality, the spirit of a country house' and he regularly entertained the royal family, hosting elaborate and theatrical house-parties. Sassoon's London address, 25 Park Lane, was dedicated to French 18th century furniture and paintings, and Port Lympne in Kent renowned for its early 20th century interiors, with murals by Jose Maria Sert (1874-1945), Glyn Philpot (1884-1937) and Rex Whistler (1905-1944). Sasson's collection and homes reflected his personal taste and the times he lived in while continuing the tradition of the ‘goût Rothschild’. He was appointed trustee at the National Gallery, Tate Gallery and the Wallace Collection, and from 1928 he held exhibitions at Park Lane in aid of charity, the first on the subject of Early English Needlework and Furniture, supported by lavish catalogues. Sassoon was sophisticated and discriminating in his acquisitions and appreciated the sensory qualities of objects and interiors. Within the select group offered here one gains an impression of the extent of this discriminatory taste and vision.After Sassoon's death at the age of just fifty, his collection passed to his sister Sybil, Marchioness of Cholmondeley after her marriage in 1913. Consequently many items moved to Houghton Hall, and were subsequently inherited by Sir Philip's nephews and niece. Lord John Cholmondeley installed a number of pieces in his Hyde Park Gardens apartment – a lateral conversation across two houses – and in 1965 employed David Hicks to decorate and furnish the space which ultimately saw Sassoon pieces including 18th century lacquer cabinets, giltwood trophies and Regency seating, Chinese paintings and porcelain blended with Hicks' modern-styled furniture, upholstered in his trademark geometric fabrics (lot 268) and set against startling wall colours, a Hicksian time capsule that remained untouched for more than fifty years.
A GEORGE II TAPESTRY PANEL
MID-18TH CENTURY
Details
A GEORGE II TAPESTRY PANEL
MID-18TH CENTURY
Of rectangular form, depicting a parrot and a squirrel over a cornucopia, in a later frame
24 x 19 in. (61 x 48 cm.)
MID-18TH CENTURY
Of rectangular form, depicting a parrot and a squirrel over a cornucopia, in a later frame
24 x 19 in. (61 x 48 cm.)
Provenance
Paul Wallraf, Grosvenor Place, London.
Purchased by Lord John Cholmondeley (d. 1986) in the 1950s, and thence by descent.
Purchased by Lord John Cholmondeley (d. 1986) in the 1950s, and thence by descent.
Literature
Ashley Hicks, 'Ashley Hicks Tours the Forgotten Apartments of Lord and Lady John Cholmondeley', Architectural Digest, accessed 11 March 2019.
Brought to you by
Peter Horwood