A Fine Pair of Late Regency Period Rosewood Side Tables, Firmly Attributed to Gillows c.1825

A Fine Pair of Late Regency Period Rosewood Torcheres/Side Tables, Firmly Attributed to Gillows c.1825

The torcheres combining octagonal galleried tops, surrounded by beaded half-round mouldings, with finely carved stems incorporating fluting, leaf carving and turned and fluted cluster column bases in a most unusual fashion. The tripod bases with knurled or scroll feet with further leaf carving and panelled areas between the legs.

These torcheres draw upon various different styles of ornament, mostly of 18^th century inspiration which is unusual for pieces of this date. Two pairs of torcheres of exactly this same model were once at Ombersley Court, homes of the Barons Sandys. The Ombersley torcheres can be seen in A. Oswald, ‘Ombersley Court, Worcestershire – II’, Country Life, 9 January 1953, p. 96, pl. 5. The torcheres are comparable in their vigorous carving and use of eclectic ornament to the furniture supplied by Gillows to Hackwood Park, dispersed in a landmark sale by Christie’s for high prices, in 1998. In addition, several features of the pieces such as the tapering support directly below the tops can be seen on documented Gillows pieces. The use of the finest Brazilian rosewood is also typical of the work of the Gillows manufactories during this period.

An unusual and highly interesting pair of torcheres which combine rococo and chinoiserie motifs and yet were produced during a time when Greek revival neoclassicism was in the ascendant, these pieces are fascinating examples and would have been made for a grand and important interior.