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W.R. Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd
Specialists in fine English Antique Furniture,1680-1830 Located in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, near Blenheim Palace, Burford & Woodstock - free parking outside
W.R. Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd
86 Corn Street
Witney
Oxfordshire
OX28 6BU
Open: 09.30 - 17.30 Monday-Saturday, and also by appointment.
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Contacts
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Mr David Harvey, James Mills
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Telephone
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+44 (0)1993 706501
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Mobile
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+44 (0)7967 649958
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Fax
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+44 (0)1993 706601
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William And Mary Kingwood Cabinet On Chest
(c. 1690 England)
| Artist |
THOMAS PISTOR
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Dimensions
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40.00inch wide
65.00inch high
19.50inch deep
(101.60 cm wide 165.10 cm high 49.53 cm deep)
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| Description |
An extraordinary William and Mary Period Kingwood Oyster veneered and Rosewood Crossbanded Cabinet on Chest by Thomas Pistor, the moulded top above a bolection moulded secret drawer oyster veneered to resemble a wave motion and above two doors each with geometrically inlaid patterns of roundels and corner spandrels within crossbanded borders and opening to reveal a fully fitted interior of 11 drawers around a central door all conformingly inlaid, the door opening to reveal further small drawers, the base with two half width and two full width oyster kingwood geometrically inlaid drawers with conforming bandings and the whole raised on Bun Feet.
Attribution:
This exceptional piece is one from a family of cabinets all made by Thomas Pistor working in London from about 1668 to 1706. We have been fortunate enough to have owned three of these pieces in the last 60 years. The first is that illustrated in Dr. Adam Bowett’s book “English Furniture, 1660 – 1714 From Charles II to Queen Anne “ Illus. 7.30 page 209. He comments in his book that as Kingwood ( Princeswood) was the most expensive and rarest exotic veneer available at the time, it was only ever used on the very best and most prized items. Although the piece shown is an escritoire rather than a cabinet on chest, the second piece we acquired shortly after the first example was indeed a cabinet on chest and again by the same maker using the same patterns as the escritoire. The current example is actually smaller than either of its two predecessors. The attribution of these extraordinary pieces is based on an article in Country Life , 11th. August 1950, depicting Buxted Park, the home of Sir Basil Ionedes and showing quite clearly a conforming parquetry inlaid Kingwood Escritoire and commenting that this bears the makers label for Mr. Thomas Pistor, Ludgate Hill, London
A major article on Thomas Pistor and his son, also Thomas, was published in the Journal of the Furniture History Society “Furniture History” in 2000 and was researched and written by Adriana Turpin. She rightly states that Pistor’s work is on a par with the Royal Cabinetmakers John Gumley and Gerrit Jensen and indeed all three worked for Colonel James Grahme who was a high ranking courtier to James II. Sadly, we cannot trace for whom this cabinet on chest was made but the possibility exists of a royal or near royal provenance. See FHS Journal 2000 pp 43 to 60
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