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A rare 18th century Italian marble top giltwood side table, one…
Sale Title:
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Melbourne
Date:
21-Mar-2015
Lot No.
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Description:
A rare 18th century Italian marble top giltwood side table, one of a pair formerly part of the Furnishings of Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire richly carved with scrolls and flowers on lobed supports united by turned and carved stretchers, beneath a Sienna marble top, 98 x 87 x 199.5 cm reference: Sotheby, Parke Bernet, Mentmore, volume I: furniture, Friday 20th May 1977, lot 822, the companion piece to the present lot illustrated on catalogue page 241. History: the Mentmore Towers side table shares its history with one of the most famous - and perhaps notorious - country houses of Britain, Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire. built between 1852-1854 as the country seat of the banker, Baron Mayer de Rothschild, the house was designed by Joseph Paxton and George Henry Stokes, the table is reflective of the Italian Renaissance style which featured throughout the property and gives a taste of the grandeur and quality of the Baron Rothschild's collection. Following successive ownership changes during the 19th and 20th centuries, the future of Mentmore Towers and its sumptuous interiors was threatened during the 1970s after offers to give title of the collection and property to the British Government in lieu of inheritance taxes or for a fee of 2 million pounds were rejected. a landmark auction of the Mentmore Towers collection was undertaken and the contents of the property dispersed for 6 million pounds - a staggering figure at the time, the companion piece to the table presented here was also once owned by Graham Geddes, but has since been sold privately.
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Unclassified