Important Burr Oak Carlton House Desk Attributed To George Bullock
London, United Kingdom
£28,000
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Item details
Height
99.0 cm
Width
164.0 cm
Depth
76.0 cm
Wear conditions
Good
Wear conditions
Excellent
Shows little to no signs of wear and tear.
Good
May show slight traces of use in keeping with age. Most vintage and antique items fit into this condition.
Average
Likely to show signs of some light scratching and ageing but still remains in a fair condition.
Apparent Wear and Tear
Visible signs of previous use including scratches, chips or stains.
Please refer to condition report, images or make a seller enquiry for additional information.
Description
This magnificent desk, displaying purity & masculinity in design, is finished on all four sides, has fifteen drawers & is constructed using the most fabulously ”wild” flowing Burr Oak veneers. The elegant gilt Brass galleried top above eight cockbeaded Honduran Mahogany lined short drawers, each with two delightfully turned & shaped solid Ebony handles, flanked by beautifully slender down swept sides, each above a small Honduran Mahogany lined long drawer, with inkwell & pen holder. Amazingly this outstanding masterpiece maintains its original Burgundy gilt tooled Moroccan Leather writing surface. The lower structure with five cockbeaded Honduran Mahogany lined long drawers, with their original locks & delightfully turned & shaped solid Ebony handles. This outstanding masterpiece rises from four powerful exquisitely turned & reeded Burr Oak tapering legs, with their original Brass castors. In excellent condition commensurate with its age & use.
Early references to desks of this type are discussed in Hugh Roberts `’The First Carlton House Table?”, Furniture History Journal, 1995, pg. 124-128. This includes an entry from the Prince of Wales’ Accounts in the Royal Archives which reveals an insight into a table of this form supplied by John Kerr, one of the Prince’s favoured Cabinetmakers, as follows;
Feb 5 1790: ”To a Large Elegant Satinwood Writing table containing 15 Drawers and two Cupboards Top covered with superfine Green Cloth to rise Occasionally the whole Varnish’d and Polish’d Compleat £20”.
The account verifies the existence of such a table in the late 18th century, supplied directly to the Prince for Carlton House prior to the general release of comparative designs such as those in George Hepplewhite’s The Cabinet-Maker’s London Book of Prices, 2nd ed., 1793, pl.21, and Thomas Sheraton’s The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book, 1793, pl.60 (see illustration). In 1814 Rudolph Ackermann included a French fashioned writing table with rounded cartonnier section in his Repository of Arts naming it a `Carlton House table’ and thereby implying its origins. A table of this model also with draped swag handles and which was reputedly commissioned by the Prince of Wales, later George IV, for Carlton House, was sold by Sotheby’s on the 25 April 1986, Lot 73.
The desk remains one of the more original and most popular & desired inventions of the late eighteenth century. Its innovation lay in being finished on all four sides such that they could stand in the middle of the room. Examples of original Carlton House desks made before 1820 are exceptionally rare, this powerful & refined piece by George Bullock is without question one of the most beautifully constructed & finest ever made.
The desk remains one of the more original and most popular & desired inventions of the late eighteenth century. Its innovation lay in being finished on all four sides such that they could stand in the middle of the room. Examples of original Carlton House desks made before 1820 are exceptionally rare, this powerful & refined piece by George Bullock is without question one of the most beautifully constructed & finest ever made.
The exquisitely powerful design & exceptional rarity of this Museum quality masterpiece cannot be overstated. It is a truly magnificent example.
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Free collection available
Yes
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- Selling at Vinterior since 2020
- Ships from London, United Kingdom
Cancellations and Returns
Last updated: 24th March 2025
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