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Lot Essay
This elegant kettle-stand is designed in the George II 'antique' manner, its fluted column and baluster-shaft supported on eagle-claw tripod feet and enriched with Roman acanthus. It formed part of the collection of Samuel Messer at Pelsham Manor in Sussex.
Tripod tables and kettle stands were primarily made for holding tea and coffee paraphernalia. Tea had been introduced into this country, from Holland, in the early 17th Century and in spite of the high prices and heavy duty imposed, it gradually became a fashionable drink and tea-drinking a fashionable pastime. Towards the middle of the 18th Century, there was a shift from the former fashion of drinking in tea gardens to drinking at home. Consequently, cabinet-makers turned their attention to the making of suitable ornamental tables. In the Female Spectator of 1745, a contributor wrote: 'The tea-table costs more to support than would maintain two children at nurse'.
The tables were either rectangular on four legs, or had a round top on a pillar and tripod base, with the larger examples often having a tilt-top so that they could be placed against a wall when not in use. Often the tops had carved ornamental edges, or lattice-work or spindle galleries. Sometimes, small circular wells were made to hold the cups, and others were inlaid with brass and mother-of-pearl. William Ince and John Mayhew illustrated designs for 'Tea Kettle Stands' in their The Universal System of Household Furniture, 1762, as did Thomas Chippendale in his The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, London, 3rd ed., 1762, p. LV.
A George II mahogany tripod table, with almost identical fluted and acanthus-clasped baluster column and cabriole legs carved with foliage and C-scrolls to the present lot was sold Christie’s, London, 8 July 1999, lot 19 for £65,300. A further tripod table, with similarly gadrooned border and profusely carved rim with acanthus clasps to the top, as seen here, was formerly in the collection of Percival D. Griffiths. It subsequently passed to J.S. Sykes Esq. then Christopher Joll Esq. until sold, Simon Sainsbury The Creation of an English Arcadia; Christie’s, London, 18 June 2008, lot 55 for £313,250.
SAMUEL MESSER AND R.W. SYMONDS
The Messer collection was formed under the guidance of R.W. Symonds (d.1958) who dominated the field of English furniture collecting in the mid-20th Century. Between 1921 and 1958 his five major books and countless articles formed and then reflected the taste of a generation. He was involved in the formation of almost all of the great private collections of English furniture and clocks of the time, including those of Percival Griffiths, Eric and Ralph Moller, Samuel Messer and Joseph Sassoon Sykes and much of their furniture was used to illustrate his books. When sourcing furniture for his clients, Symonds laid particular emphasis on original patination, a well-balanced design and good quality carving and timber.
Tripod tables and kettle stands were primarily made for holding tea and coffee paraphernalia. Tea had been introduced into this country, from Holland, in the early 17th Century and in spite of the high prices and heavy duty imposed, it gradually became a fashionable drink and tea-drinking a fashionable pastime. Towards the middle of the 18th Century, there was a shift from the former fashion of drinking in tea gardens to drinking at home. Consequently, cabinet-makers turned their attention to the making of suitable ornamental tables. In the Female Spectator of 1745, a contributor wrote: 'The tea-table costs more to support than would maintain two children at nurse'.
The tables were either rectangular on four legs, or had a round top on a pillar and tripod base, with the larger examples often having a tilt-top so that they could be placed against a wall when not in use. Often the tops had carved ornamental edges, or lattice-work or spindle galleries. Sometimes, small circular wells were made to hold the cups, and others were inlaid with brass and mother-of-pearl. William Ince and John Mayhew illustrated designs for 'Tea Kettle Stands' in their The Universal System of Household Furniture, 1762, as did Thomas Chippendale in his The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, London, 3rd ed., 1762, p. LV.
A George II mahogany tripod table, with almost identical fluted and acanthus-clasped baluster column and cabriole legs carved with foliage and C-scrolls to the present lot was sold Christie’s, London, 8 July 1999, lot 19 for £65,300. A further tripod table, with similarly gadrooned border and profusely carved rim with acanthus clasps to the top, as seen here, was formerly in the collection of Percival D. Griffiths. It subsequently passed to J.S. Sykes Esq. then Christopher Joll Esq. until sold, Simon Sainsbury The Creation of an English Arcadia; Christie’s, London, 18 June 2008, lot 55 for £313,250.
SAMUEL MESSER AND R.W. SYMONDS
The Messer collection was formed under the guidance of R.W. Symonds (d.1958) who dominated the field of English furniture collecting in the mid-20th Century. Between 1921 and 1958 his five major books and countless articles formed and then reflected the taste of a generation. He was involved in the formation of almost all of the great private collections of English furniture and clocks of the time, including those of Percival Griffiths, Eric and Ralph Moller, Samuel Messer and Joseph Sassoon Sykes and much of their furniture was used to illustrate his books. When sourcing furniture for his clients, Symonds laid particular emphasis on original patination, a well-balanced design and good quality carving and timber.