A George II Irish mahogany side table, circa 1750, the rectangular top with gadrooned edge above a profusely carved and pierced frieze centred by a lion mask flanked by swags of oak branches and flowerheads, the side friezes centred by a carved shell, a swag beneath, on cabriole legs with acanthus carved terminals, on stylised lion paw feet, 81cm high, 132cm wide, 75cm deep Provenance: Dawson Townley of Townley Hall, Louth, Ireland. Thence by direct descent to the current owner Built in 1799, Townley Hall is regarded as a masterpiece in the classical style of Francis Johnston the foremost Irish architect of his day. Commissioned as a private home for the Townley Balfour family, it was designed to impress on the visitor not only the wealth and sophistication of the landlord, but the craftsmanship available in the local area. The poet laureate Sir John Betjeman in a survey of the work of Francis Johnson wrote: 'I have seen many Irish houses, but I know none at once so dignified, so restrained and so original as Francis Johnston's Townley Hall' As this table would appear to pre date the current Townley Hall, this would suggest that the table was indeed part of the original furnishings of the previous building that stood just 100 yards away on the same site. Despite this, a very interesting point to note is that detailing to some of the friezes of rooms in the current building depicting a central lion mask flanked by swags bear very close similarity to the frieze of the current table being offered. For a closely related example of a serving table probably supplied to the fifth Earl of Antrim for Glenarm Castle, Antrim see Irish Furniture, The Knight of Glin and James Peill, Yale University Press 2007, Page 113, figure 147 where it suggests that the sophistication of the Glenarm side table points to Dublin as its place of manufacture. See also figure 75, page 224 of the same publication for another closely related example at the City Art Museum of St. Louis, Missouri, formerly the property of Lord Forteviot. In their book, the Knight of Glin and James Peill also refer to two pieces of furniture known to have been part of the Furnishings of Townley Hall. See page 212 (fig 36) for an oak open armchair of Chinese Chippendale style (dated 1768) that matches a chair photographed by Country Life for an article on Townley Hall in 1948. (Christopher Hussey 'Townley Hall, Co.Louth, Ireland -II, Country Life, 30 July 1948'. See also page 255 (fig 206) for a tallboy known to be similar to a known example at Townley Hall. A copy of the Country Life article will be made available to view with the table. Condition report disclaimer
A George II Irish mahogany side table, circa 1750, the rectangular top with gadrooned edge above a profusely carved and pierced frieze centred by a lion mask flanked by swags of oak branches and flowerheads, the side friezes centred by a carved shell, a swag beneath, on cabriole legs with acanthus carved terminals, on stylised lion paw feet, 81cm high, 132cm wide, 75cm deep Provenance: Dawson Townley of Townley Hall, Louth, Ireland. Thence by direct descent to the current owner Built in 1799, Townley Hall is regarded as a masterpiece in the classical style of Francis Johnston the foremost Irish architect of his day. Commissioned as a private home for the Townley Balfour family, it was designed to impress on the visitor not only the wealth and sophistication of the landlord, but the craftsmanship available in the local area. The poet laureate Sir John Betjeman in a survey of the work of Francis Johnson wrote: 'I have seen many Irish houses, but I know none at once so dignified, so restrained and so original as Francis Johnston's Townley Hall' As this table would appear to pre date the current Townley Hall, this would suggest that the table was indeed part of the original furnishings of the previous building that stood just 100 yards away on the same site. Despite this, a very interesting point to note is that detailing to some of the friezes of rooms in the current building depicting a central lion mask flanked by swags bear very close similarity to the frieze of the current table being offered. For a closely related example of a serving table probably supplied to the fifth Earl of Antrim for Glenarm Castle, Antrim see Irish Furniture, The Knight of Glin and James Peill, Yale University Press 2007, Page 113, figure 147 where it suggests that the sophistication of the Glenarm side table points to Dublin as its place of manufacture. See also figure 75, page 224 of the same publication for another closely related example at the City Art Museum of St. Louis, Missouri, formerly the property of Lord Forteviot. In their book, the Knight of Glin and James Peill also refer to two pieces of furniture known to have been part of the Furnishings of Townley Hall. See page 212 (fig 36) for an oak open armchair of Chinese Chippendale style (dated 1768) that matches a chair photographed by Country Life for an article on Townley Hall in 1948. (Christopher Hussey 'Townley Hall, Co.Louth, Ireland -II, Country Life, 30 July 1948'. See also page 255 (fig 206) for a tallboy known to be similar to a known example at Townley Hall. A copy of the Country Life article will be made available to view with the table. Condition report disclaimer
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