An exceptionally fine pair of walnut framed early 18th century style needlework wall sconces, English
REF: 2920
Each arched top and bottom fine gros and petit-point needlework panel designed with a courting couple, within a landscape of flowers and buildings, a dog at their feet, in a bolection-moulded walnut-veneered surround, fitted with a pair of brass candle branches, each with a dished drip-pan and a lipped candle socket.
For two very similar examples dated to Queen Anne, formerly in the Irwin Untermyer Collection, see The Metropolitan Museum Collection, New York, accession numbers: 64.101.1016 and 64.101.1017.
See Adam Bowett, Early Georgian Furniture, 1715-1740 (2009), p. 279, p. 6:24, for another comparable period pair. The author notes that 'Sconces with needlework or other cloth backing, seem at first improbable, because the non-reflective backs offer no benefit in terms of light, and would be vulnerable to candle grease, soot or even fire'. Nonetheless, the 1725 inventory of John Evendon, a London joiner and picture dealer, records 'a pair of workt (embroidered) Sconces' in his 'fore chamber' or parlour (CLRO, Orphans' Court Records Roll 3208).
64.101.1016
- Height 57 cm / 22 "
- Width 36 cm / 14 "
- Depth 20 cm / 8"
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