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An exceptional Australian Colonial full cedar pedestal…
Sale Title:
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Sydney
Date:
19-May-2013
Lot No.
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Description:
An exceptional Australian Colonial full cedar pedestal sideboard, with carving by John Fletcher, Sydney, late 1840s, the rectangular top with cross-banded edge supporting a broad scrolled backboard with applied carved acanthus scrolls, over a beautifully decorated lobed frieze with four concealed drawers, on two pedestals with elaborate applied carving to the veneered panelled doors, enclosing storage spaces with sliding wine trays and a cellaret drawer (possibly later), raised on cross-banded plinths with gadrooned mouldings; the backboard signed (impressed) 'J. Fletcher, Carver' in two places. The cedar is of exceptional quality with both the top and the back board being formed out of one piece, the top alone being almost 9 feet long by 2 feet wide. The construction includes fine dovetails on the drawers, and is notable for the use of early handmade screws, evidenced by their asymmetric slot. The carving is very extensive and finely executed, particularly notable in the way in which the drawer frieze extends along both sides, indicating a lavishness of commission not often evidenced in this period. The sideboard is in excellent condition with no alterations beyond the possible addition of the cellaret drawer and shelf, and minimal evidence of restoration. The drawer runners have been replaced as would be expected with a piece of this age, and the top refinished. The back board and pedestal doors retain their original finish, and the colour of the unpolished dry surfaces of the back confirm both the age of this exceptional piece and the lack of any intervention. Length 267.5 cm. Depth 62.5 cm. Height 134 cm. Provenance: Miss Charlotte Keyf, Roseville Sydney c. 1960. John Fletcher worked as a wood carver in Sydney between 1844 and 1851. (Some references place him at Clarence Street Sydney between 1844 and 1847). A chiffonier featuring a carved backboard in a similar style, and bearing the same impressed marks, is illustrated as plate 168 in Fahy, Simpson & Simpson 'Nineteenth century Australian a furniture', David Ell press, Sydney, 1984. A similar carved frieze appears in a design for a pedestal sideboard by W Smee & Sons, London, 1850, and various designs submitted for the great Exhibition of 1851 feature related friezes
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Furniture: Cabinets & Cupboards - Storage