Christie's London, 18 November 1993, lot 100

The present lot’s understated elegance of form and high quality of carving make it a lovely example of the classical Georgian bookcase, with a clear Regency flavour: the wreath centring the upper frieze, for instance, recurs in mounts across English furniture in the early nineteenth century. Typical of the Regency, too, is the departure from the traditional interpretations of how Classical features should be arranged – the generally Grecian feel is made more complex with the addition of naturalistic tendrils, not acanthus leaves, to the upper pilasters, and the buds on the astragal doors are possibly lotus buds drawn from Egyptian Revival decoration. The flat tops of the two side sections were most likely intended as plinths for busts, as can be seen on the ‘Library Bookcase & Secretaire’ illustrated in Nicholson’s Practical Cabinet-Maker, Upholsterer, and Complete Decorator.¹ This design, too, features similar wreath-centred mounts on the upper frieze and stylised capitals on the pilasters. Another element of the present lot’s design, the scrolling central pediment, is mirrored in George Smith’s design for a ‘Dwarf Wardrobe’ in his 1808 book of designs, Collections of Design for Household Furniture.² While astragal-glazed doors hওad featured decoratively geometric bars since the late eightꦦeenth century, the arrangement of diamonds and crosses on the present lot is highly original.

¹ Peter & M. A. Nicholson, The Practical Cabinet-Maker, Upholsterer, and Complete Decorator, London, 1826. Available at: <> [accessed 4^th March 2024]

² Pl. 134 from George Smith’s Collections of Design for Household Furniture, London, 1808, illustrated in John Harris, Regency Furniture Designs from Contemporary Source Books, 1803-1826, London, 1961, fig.176.