19th Century English Satinwood Carlton House Desk Attributed to Gillows

Circa 1880

Dimensions:

H: 41 1/4 in / 104.8 cm
W: 61 in / 154.9 cm
D: 32 1/2 in / 82.5 cm

Footnote:

This particular design of desk owes its name to the one supplied to the Prince of Wales for Carlton House by the court cabinet maker John Kerr in 1790. Its design was later published by George Hepplewhite in 1792 and in 1793 by Thomas Shearer. The publication in Sheraton’s The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing-Book of several plates illustrating the interiors of Prince George’s recently built palace raised the interest for its interior decoration.

Three years later, the name Carlton House desk appears for the first time in the Estimate Sketch Book of Gillow of London and Lancaster. A Gillow’s sketch from 1798 differs slightly from Hepplewhite’s and it is closer in design to the present lot, most noticeably displaying the turned and fluted legs and the pierced brass gallery. The design of this desk similar to known Gillow’s stamped models, the type of construction and the typical square brass handles strengthen an attribution to this firm.

Literature:
‘H. Roberts, ‘The First Carlton House Table?’, Furniture History,1995, pp. 124-128).
S. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London 1730-1840, Antique Collectors Club, 2008, vol. 1, pp.286-287.