Research
Of mahogany with ebony line inlay. The oval basin-form body with scalloped ebonized inlay, flanked on each side by bearded male mask handles. The shaped domed lid with conforming inlaid decoration and a knop handle in the form of grapevines surmounted by a pineapple opening to a lead-lined interior. The whole raised on on four carved paw feet.
Provenance:
A New York Collection
This remarkable wine cooler is distinguished by its oval basin shape and unusual interpretation of Bacchanalian, pastoral imagery. The derivation of the design for the present piece belongs to antiquity, and the only other known example in wood that has the distinctive and very difficult to fabricate oval basin shape, whereby the undercurve is continuous, is a cistern in the manner of Robert Adam dating to circa 1770, now at Mount Stewart, County Down.
The ornamentation of the cistern alludes to Bacchus, god of wine and revelry, appropriate for an article of dining room furniture. The handles, which appear to be without precedent on English furniture, feature identical bearded male faces with remarkably expressive and individual physiognomy. The faces are imbued with Bacchic qualities and confer a feeling of idyllic rural life espoused by Enlightenment thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The loose-fitting workman’s cap may indicate and an associated trade, such as an innkeeper or wine merchant. The scale, quality and inventiveness of the present piece suggests a bespoke commission for a large-scale grand interior scheme, and was likely made for a patron who enjoyed the amusement of hosting and partaking in merrymaking.
Full research report available on request.