WILLIAM BURGES (1827-1881)
BOWL, 1870
£40,200
Auction: 11 October 2023 at 10:00 BST
Description
archaic Chinese gui-form carved jade censor, inset with coloured glass and gemstone cabochons including emerald, garnet, ruby and turquoise, applied gilt metal mounts, inscribed in coloured enamels WIL’ BURGES: ME: F: F: EX: HONORARIIS: PPTER DOSSALE: EDINBURG'NSE: COLLATIS: MDCCCLXX
Dimensions
rim 9.4cm diameter, body 11.1cm diameter, height 8.3cm
Provenance
Provenance: William Burges, Tower House, London
Felix Emile Andrews (1888-1975)
Philip Andrews
Dreweatts, Newbury, 12 September 2012, lot 34
Daniel Katz Gallery, London
Sotheby’s, London, 12 November 2013, lot 235
Harris Lindsay, London, until 2016
John Gilbert Getty (1968-2020)
with Paul Shutler
On loan to the National Museum of Wales from 1931 to 1953
Footnote
The abbreviated Latin inscription-
WIL’ BURGES: ME: F: F: EX: HONORARIIS: PPTER DOSSALE: EDINBURG'NSE: COLLATIS: MDCCCLXX
Translates as -
WILLIAM BURGES HAD ME MADE FROM THE FEES EARNED FOR THE EDINBURGH DOSSAL 1870
Note: William Burges's only commission in Edinburgh was for a carved stone reredos or dossal for the high altar (though moved around 1900 to the lady chapel) of St Michael and All Saints Episcopal Church depicting the Annunciation flanked by Moses and Gideon. It was modelled by Thomas Nicholls and coloured and gilt by Charles Campbell of Harland and Fisher. This bowl was commissioned by Burges for his own collection using the funds he received for the work. Exotic antique works of art, such as the present example, mounted with precious metals and coloured enamels are typical illustrations of Burges's enthusiasm for collecting and his antiquarian tastes. Burges commemorated his projects by having archaic items mounted and inscribed in this fashion. Another example of this, now in The Bute Collection, is his Cat Cup of 1867, an elaborately mounted Chinese crystal beaker which Burges had made for himself after his failed competition entry for the Law Courts, eventually won by G.E. Street. It is inscribed around the foot WILLIAM:BURGES:IN:REMEMBRANCE:OF:THE:LAW:COURTS:COMPETITION:AD:MDCCCLXVII.