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Herter Rosewood Bedroom Suite (3 Pcs.)

$65,000List Price

About the Item

At the height of their artistic career, Herter Brothers – in addition to their well-known Anglo-Japanesque work – did a few very important pieces in a so-called “Pompeian Classical” taste, the best known example of which is the library table made for William H. Vanderbilt now on permanent display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The present rosewood bedroom suite, with its playful carved detailing and extraordinary marquetry, relates to the Metropolitan’s table and other Pompeian Classical furnishings made by Herter for William Vanderbilt’s library. The suite’s marquetry panels, with their witty dolphins and cherubs, bear strong similarity to the panel inlay on the Vanderbilt library’s fireplace. According to a period source: “In designing this elaborate chimneypiece, the architect has been successful in combining the Greek Orders, which are apt to look rather too bare in an interior, with whatever of Pompeian frieze decoration and Roman sumptuousness would harmonize with items most properly, and carry out the impression of richness proper to a fully upholstered modern room.”(1) It should also be noted that the carvings on the bedroom pieces are closely related to the detailing of furniture made by Herter for William Vanderbilt’s dining room.(2) The Vanderbilt table, as well as the bookcases and other fittings of the library itself, in addition to the few other pieces made in this Pompeian Classical spirit, were considered to be the very finest quality ever produced by the firm, and the Herter brothers thought these extraordinary pieces would be their legacy. A period publication describes them by saying, “Specimens like this, put together under exceptional advantages … and representing the most deliberate work of a period, are just what will be valuable to the Chippendales and Boules of the future.”(3) The Vanderbilt library was completed in 1883, a year before the present suite was made. Created at the very moment that Herter Brothers was at the peak of its preeminence, this exquisite bedroom set is of the very best quality produced by the firm, in an idiom created specifically for their most distinguished clientele. Although it can be attributed and fairly accurately dated by its aesthetic and detailing, this bedroom set also bears the date of “1884”, as well as sequential item numbering and a “store” notation, indicating that these extraordinary pieces were created and sold contemporaneously with those made for the William H. Vanderbilt mansion. Markings: Dresser signed on underside in script, “New York 1884”. Both the dresser and its mirror are branded with the number “3855” and also labeled in script, “Store 3855”. Underside of commode branded “3856” and underside of its onyx top is marked “Store 3856”. Literature/References: Strahan, Edward [Earl Shinn], Mr. Vanderbilt’s House and Collection. Boston: George Barrie, 1883-84, Vol. I, p. 36 and succeeding plate, “Chimney¬piece in the Library.” Also Howe, Katherine S., Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen and Catherine Hoover Voorsanger, et al, Herter Brothers: Furniture and Interiors for a Gilded Age. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1994, p. 204-205 for related detailing. (Bed: 55” h x 66” w x 84” d; Dresser with mirror: 91 ½” h x 57 ½” w x 22 ½” d; Commode: 33” h x 18” w x 18” d [3 pieces]) (1)Strahan, Edward. Mr. Vanderbilt’s House and Collection. Boston: George Barrie,1883-84, Vol. I, p. 36 and succeeding plate. (2)Howe, Katherine S., Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen and Catherine Hoover Voorsanger, et al. Herter Brothers: Furniture and Interiors for a Gilded Age. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1994, pp. 204-205. (3)Strahan, op.cit., p. 43.

Attributed to:
Herter Brothers (Designer)
Sold As:
Set of 3
Materials and Techniques:
Cherry,Chestnut,Mirror,Oak,Rosewood
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1884
Condition:
Very fine with all original finish, onyx, beveled mirror glass, hardware and casters. Two minor mouldings (2” x 1”) replaced at top of mirror, and one small capital volute carving on commode replaced. Break in dresser onyx and chips to underside of commode onyx repaired.
Seller Location:
Southport, CT
Reference Number:
Seller: #4261stDibs: U120924950517

Vintage 1930s French Bedroom Sets

Materials

Walnut

Bedroom Suite, Louis Majorelle

$16,500 Sale Price / set

$10,831 / set

H 79.53 in W 72.25 in D 25.01 in

Victorian Hampton Son s Satinwood Bedroom Suite Wardrobe Dressing Table Mirror

Located in West Sussex, Pulborough

We are delighted to offer for auction this very rare original Victorian Satinwood bedroom suite by Hampton & Son’s of Pall Mall London. A very rare bedroom suite made by one of the great Victorian furniture makers Hampton & Son’s of Pall Mall London. The suite is circa 1890, made from the finest Satinwood available and with silver leaf painted detailing, each piece is Stamped with the button Label of Hampton's Pall Mall East London apart from the chair which has the Hampton plaque on the underside The dimensions of each piece are below, the main wardrobe is very large, the wardrobe with drawers is actually very small and a tallboy size, the dressing table comes with a matching chair and stool We have cleaned waxed and polished it from top to bottom, the glass in the Cherval mirror is lightly perished and aged as it’s the original plate, otherwise for me its in time warp condition Hampton and Sons were cabinet makers of Antique Furniture and were first established in ca. 1830 by William Hampton. He opened his first shop selling General household to more Fine furniture in Cranbourn Street, in London. In 1869 Williams Two sons George and William joined his business and they expended and moved to the larger premises 8 Pall Mall, London. Hampton and Sons furnished some impressive properties and boats from the Royal Yacht Britannia, the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary, the Theatre Royal of Drury Lane, the Duke of York Theatre, the Dorchester and the Mayfair Hotels and the palaces of two Indian princes, the Nizam of Hyderabad & the Maharajah of Kashmir. Hampton and Sons had a few disasters throughout its history, it suffered a major fire in 1890 but they re-established and went to expand their business further. They bought several cabinet making firms starting with James Coulson and Co of Lisburn, Northern Ireland in 1898, and then Goodall, Lamb and Highway of King Street, Manchester and Robson and Sons...

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