A George III Mahogany Breakfront Bookcase, Circa 1760

The Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller, acquired from Needham's Antiques, New York, November 1950 through Cecil Turner;

Christie's New York, 9 May 2018, lot 138;

Rolleston, London.

D. Fennimore et al. The David and Peggy Rockefeller, Decorative Arts , New York ,1992, Vol IV , p.263/4, 266

A similar bookcase is illustrated in P Macquoid and R Edwards The Dictionary of English Furniture London, 1924- 27, Vol 1, p.77 fig 19.

F. Lewis Hinckley, The More Significant Georgian Furniture , New York, 1990, p.57, Fig. 77

English furniture of the eighteenth century often has a look of its own that comes from a fruitful synthesis of multiple influences, as exemplified by this refined and well-made bookcase. Its overall architectural form comes from the classical traditions of Greece and Italy, with Batty Langley systematising this link with his designs for bookcases that conformed to the standardised orders of classical architecture.¹ The pediment is also a classical reference, with the open ‘broken’ section allowing for a marble bust to be displayed. The scalloped gadrooning to the waist, together with the astragal glazing on the doors, derive from Chinese ornament, which also takes the form of blind-fret carving and pierced-back chairs called ‘Chinese Railing’ and ‘Chinese Chairs’ in Chippendale’s Director.² Similar astragal glazing can also be observed on a ‘Library Bookcase’ in the Director, pl. LXIX. The use of large panels of mahogany on the drawer fronts reflects new developments in global trade in the mid-eighteenth century, allowing for the import of large mahogany timber from the West Indies and Honduras: around this time, English furniture often includes large panels that show off the beautiful grain of ‘flame mahogany’, more dramatic and expressive than the burr walnut that preceded it in the first half of the century. These various currents all come together on a grand yet serene piece that is unmistakeably and quintessentially English.

The firm likely responsible for this bookcase, Wright and Elwick, were based in Wakefield and supplied furniture to numerous major country houses in the region, including Wentworth Woodhouse, Temple Newsam and Nostell Priory. They are listed among the subscribers to Chippendale’s Director as “Richard Wright, upholder” and “Charles Elwick, upholder”,³ and they were one of the most successful cabinet-making firms outside London bar Gillows of Lancaster.⁴

This bookcase comes from the important collection of art and antiques amassed by David Rockefeller, grandson of John Rockefeller, the famous founder of the Standard Oil Company, and himself chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He and his wife Peggy collected across categories for decades, with the highlights of their sale at Christie’s in 2022 including a Monet, a Matisse, a Picasso and a Sèvres dinner service made for Napoleon. A closely similar bookcase is illustrated in Macquoid’s Dictionary of English Furniture⁵ and was sold at Christie's, London, 28 November 2002, lot 110. Another similar example without a cornice sold at Christie's New York, 29-30 November 2012, lot 105.

¹ ‘B. L. Surveyor’ [Batty Langley], The City and Country Builder’s and Workman’s Treasury of Design: Or the Art of Drawing and Working the Ornamental Parts of Architecture, London, 1741, p.347, pl. CLVII to CLXIV. Available at: <https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=ncs1.ark:/13960/t1dj61f8p&seq=339&view=1up> [accessed 29^th April 2024]

² Thomas Chippendale, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director, Leeds, 1754 [2005 reprint], pl. CLVII-CLX (‘Chinese Railing’) and XXIII to XXV (‘Chinese Chairs’)

³ Ibid., p.x and vii.

⁴ The judgement given in Geoffrey Beard and Christopher Gilbert (ed), ‘Wright, Richard & Elwick, Edward (1745-71)’, The Dictionary of British and Irish Furniture Makers, 1500-1914, Leeds, 1986. Available at: <https://bifmo.furniturehistorysociety.org/entry/wright-richard-elwick-edward-1745-71> [accessed 29^th April 2024]