the rectangular top above a gilt moulded frieze with one long drawer and a secretaire drawer below, the secrétaire fitted with an arrangement of seven drawers and five pigeon holes, all above a central cupboard door flanked by columnar supports, on bracket feet

Commissioned by George IV (1762 - 1830) for Windsor Castle, Berkshire form Morel and Seddon - No. 885 in 1828 account book;
Thence by descent until removed at an unknown date from the Royal Collection;
Anonymous sale, English Furniture Ceramics and Decorations, Sotheby's, New York, October 21 2003, lot 338.  

Hugh Roberts, For the King's Pleasure: The Furnishing and Decoration of George IV's Apartments at Windsor Castle, 2001, p. 317, fig. 398.

A handsome piece in good restored condition. The veneers to the top surface have undergone some movement but have been secured and patched in areas which has been achieved sympathetically to the original feel of the piece. The areas of gilding have been re-gilt. Drawer linings are good. The red leather interior of the secretaries drawer is scuffed. There are veneer patches to the interior of the secretaire drawer. There is signs of scuffing to the plinth base where the cupboard door opens. The cupboard door opens to reveal one later adjustable mahogany shelf. There are very minor old marks and scratches commensurate with age and use. The veneers are exceptionally figured throughout, this piece is ready to place.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

'To a handsome cabinet of very fine elm highly polished, the upper part containing a draw out secrétaire with falling front, panelled with gilt mouldings & finished with ormolu handles, the interior fitted up with drawers and partitions & lined with crimson leather, also a large drawer above do, panelled & enriched to match surmounted with a carved cornice & supported by columns with carved foliage capitals and bases, terminating on a curved plinth with improved castors, the lower part enclosed by a panelled door, the ends finished to correspond, the whole of the enrichment gilt in the best manner & burnished gold'

This magnificent burr-elm cabinet reflects the partnership formed between Nicholas Morel and George Seddon, formed primarily to carry out𝄹 the 1826 Windsor Castle commission for King George IV. Nicholas Morel was chosen by the King as the furniture maker in charge of re-furnishing the Castle whilst Seddon’s extensive workshops provided experienced draughtsmen, managers and skilled workmen; Seddon himself also ran the business side of the project. However, the King was also involved - a series of seventy drawings showing the proposed schemes of decoration are in many cases seen to bear the King's annotations and approval; these drawings were sold Sotheby's, London, 9 April, 1970. The firm were responsible for supplying furniture to the rooms remodelled for George IV by the architect Jeffrey Wyattville (1766 – 1840). Wyattville, who had been personally chosen by the King, was charged with realising the King’s ambition of reconstructing the Castle as the prime symbol of British monarchy.

The present lot was commissioned specifically for Room 230 – a bedroom, which was hung by Robson and Hale with ‘superior’ papers and borders of the ‘King’s private Patterns.’ The furniture was upholstered in yellow silk, either stripped or decorated with flowers, carefully contrived to accord with the yellow tones of the elm and giltwood furniture. Hugh Roberts, in his monograph on the furniture at Windsor Castle, notes that the matched coloured wall papers reflected in the choice of furniture highlights the strong Parisian influence of Jacob-Desmalter on the Morel and Seddon commission. This elm and giltwood secrétaire cabinet appears as item 885 in Morel and Seddon’s Account Book (transcribed Hugh Roberts, op.cit., p. 301) for work at Windsor Castle as ‘a handsome cabinet of very fine elm highly polished’. The𒀰 total cost for this secrétaire, two cabinets, a clothes horse, a table and two pedestals, was the prodigious sum of £2143.

A larger secrétaireౠ of elm and giltwood by Morel and Seddon and made for Room 231, a bedroom en suite with Room 230, was sold in these rooms, April 7, 1990, lot 87.