 |
RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
 |
|
|
RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
|
|
A superb quality Victorian Sheraton Revival inlaid mahogany and satinwood display cabinet by Edwards and Roberts, stamped EDWARDS & ROBERTS, of serpentine form, the channelled pediment above a panelled frieze decorated with ribbon-tied floral swags above a central convex-shaped glazed door, flanked by a pair of concave-shaped glazed doors, opening to reveal the original mirrored back and three adjustable serpentine-shaped shelves, the corresponding waved base with panelled frieze inlaid with central lyre and arabesque foliate scrolls and central frieze drawer with drop handles above a central pair and single flanking doors inlaid with trailing arabesques, the two central doors centred by a putto within a medallion and the flanking doors each centred by a musical trophy London, date circa 1880 Height 238 cm, width 200 cm, depth of top 38 cm, depth of base 53 cm. The Victorians heralded all manner of past historical styles in their arts. The vogue for the eighteenth century in the form of the Georgian revival did not come into its own until the 1860’s of which the Victorian Sheraton style (also known as the Edwardian Sheraton though made prior to 1902) was really a sub division of this revival. Much of it was made in mahogany or satinwood and as here was copiously inlaid with marquetry or was painted in an Adam manner. The Victorians however did not usually reproduce the duller mahogany of the originals but made their pieces with a lighter variety of mahogany or in satinwood. Victorian Sheraton furniture was nearly always of the highest quality and when associated with firms such as Edwards and Roberts was as highly valued then as it is today. Edwards and Roberts based many of their designs on Hepplewhite and Sheraton pattern books that had been widely used by the London and regional makers during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The quality of their work actively encouraged an enthusiasm for the Regency style among British and American clientele. At times the firm’s reproductions were so good that it has been hard to distinguish them from the originals but as a representative of the firm was documented as saying “very little fraud was practised”, since “high class imitations of old furniture were very costly”. They remain so today. It is unlikely however that the present cabinet is an exact reproduction of an original on account of its size as well the fact that the display cabinet did not really come into vogue until the Victorian era. Victorian society differed from that of the eighteenth century since only the very rich could afford such an ostentatious desire for storage and display. The increasing affluence among the Victorian upper and middle classes created a demand for a wide variety of side and display cabinets that had little to do with books or dining room requirements. Rather a cabinet such as this would have been made for the drawing room or for a public position where all could admire its magnificence and the objects on display within. The present piece, boasting its original mirrored |