Object Description
This is a truly exceptional antique Edwardian Sheraton Revival hand painted and inlaid satin wood Carlton House Desk, circa 1900 in date.
This exquisite desk is made from the finest satin wood, and is superbly finished all round with spectacular hand-painted floral decoration as well as superb doves, urns and foliate swags, all in the manner of the Swiss neoclassical painter, Angelica Kauffman.
The raised superstructure is fitted with three useful panel door cupboards flanking six short small drawers and a further pair of end drawers.
A splendid writing slide, fitted with the original inset pale green leather writing surface, is above three frieze drawers, which provide ample storage for all of your personal and business papers.
It is raised on square tapering legs that terminate in spade feet with the original brass castors.
It is complete with the original working brass locks and keys.
The craftsmanship that has gone into this impressive Carlton House Desk is second to none, and it will soon become the centrepiece of your furniture collection.
Condition:
In really excellent condition having only been beautifully cleaned and waxed in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 97.5 cm x Width 132.5 cm x Depth 64 cm
Dimensions in inches:
Height 3 foot, 2 inches x Width 4 foot, 4 inches x Depth 2 feet, 1 inch
Carlton House Desk
is a specific antique desk form within the more general bureau à gradin form. This specific form is supposed to have been designed in 1790s for the Prince of Wales (who later became George IV) by George Hepplewhite. It is named after Carlton House, which was at the time the London residence of the Prince of Wales. This kind of desk is sometimes also known as a Carlton House writing table.
The desk is like a normal writing table but the small drawers above the surface form a “U” shape around the user instead of being merely set up in front of him as is usual in a typical bureau a gradin. Unlike other types of bureau a gradin the Carlton House desk usually offers no pigeonholes. There are usually small slopes over the two desktop drawers at the left and right ends of the “U” shape.
Drawings of this type of desk were presented by Hepplewhite in his famous design book the Cabinet Maker and Upholsterers Guide and by Thomas Sheraton in his own famous book of designs, The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book, thus ensuring its popularity.
Satin wood
is a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indian or Ceylon satinwood is the yellowish or dark-brown heartwood of Chloroxylon swietenia.
The lustrous, fine-grained, usually figured wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, veneers, and backs of brushes. West Indian satin wood, sometimes called yellow wood, is considered superior. It is the golden yellow, lustrous, even-grained wood found in the Florida Keys and the West Indies.
It has long been valued for furniture. It is also used for musical instruments, veneers, and other purposes. Satin wood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae.
Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann RA (30 October 1741 – 5 November 1807), usually known in English as Angelica Kauffman, was a Swiss Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Remembered primarily as a history painter, Kauffmann was a skilled portraitist, landscape and decoration painter. She was one of the two female founding members of the Royal Academy in London in 1768.
Our reference: A4061