Lot 90
IMPORTANT GEORGE III WHITE STATUARY, SIENNA MARBLE AND JASPER CHIMNEYPIECE, ATTRIBUTED TO FRANCIS HARWOOD
AFTER DESIGNS IN THE STYLE OF SIR HENRY CHEERE, CIRCA 1774
Fine Furniture and Works of Art
Auction: 27 January 2016 at 10:00 GMT
Description
carved and moulded Carrara marble, inset with panels of Sienna and Jasper marble
Dimensions
208cm wide, 160cm total height; interior 119cm wide, 112cm high
Footnote
Provenance:
c.1830 John Scott (8th. Scott to be Laird of Gala), Old Gala House, Galashiels
1876 Installed in (New) Gala House, by David Bryce, the architect
1976 John Scott of Hollybush House, Galashiels (from whom purchased).
Note:
With its characteristic use of white statuary marble onto a Jasper marble ground, this chimneypiece relates to the work of the sculptor Sir Henry Cheere, and was possibly supplied by the sculptor Francis Harwood (fl.1748-1783) at the end of the 18th century. An almost identical chimneypiece exists in the first-floor small Drawing Room at Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire and its attribution to Harwood is suggested by its construction, with the stretcher and shelf mouldings formed as a single piece of marble, typical of the Italian style of this period. It is known that Harwood worked as a 'stone-cutter' in Florence, and was a prolific maker of chimneypieces. He also became one of the major providers of sculpture for English aristocrats visiting Florence on the Grand Tour. Four pedestals made by Cheere of white and Sienna marble with Sicilian jasper panels, which bear similarities to the Wedderburn chimneypiece and the present lot, are in the collection of National Trust in the Music Room at West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire.
(New) Gala House, Galashiels, was designed by the Edinburgh architect David Bryce in the Scottish Baronial style with building commencing in 1872. It is believed the chimneypiece was moved from the earlier (Old) Gala House which was extended and renovated in the 18th century. In the 20th century (New) Gala House was eventually abandoned and sat empty, falling into increased disrepair. It was demolished in 1987 and the chimneypiece most likely removed at that time.