Lot 38
£1,875
Hints on Household Taste : Paul Reeves
Auction: 28 June 2022 from 11:00 BST
walnut, with leaded and glazed panels, brass fittings and mirrored glass
Literature: Soros, Susan, Aesthetic Movement Architect and Designer, New Haven, 1999, p. 209, no. 333; pp. 226-7, pls 369 and 369.1; p. 199 pl. 319; p. 188 pl. 309.II.
Note: Having worked as an assistant to E. W. Godwin, Freeth Roper then worked for Collinson & Lock, Gillow & Co. and Kendal Milne & Co. designing furniture in an Anglo-Japanese style. His work appeared in The British Architect vols 10 (1878) and 15 (1881), and Building News in 1873 and 1878. This current work owes much to Godwin as can be seen from the curved and extending tapered uprights on the upper section, the ring handles with square backplates and the brass strap hinges and moulded timber elements. The pierced circular openings can be seen in a sketch by Godwin for a drawing room cabinet of circa 1874 (V&A PD E. 235-1963, fol. 32), and are not noted in any of Freeth Roper's other designs.
This is one of two known examples of this form, the other is held in a private collection in the UK. Significantly, the other cabinet is ebonised and has the same pierced detail, again a characteristic finish and design feature used by Godwin and not known in any designs recorded by Freeth Roper.