Research
Of mahogany. The hinged rectangular top with eared pediment to the front of opposing chimera at the center and carved acroterae at the corners on a body carved with paired amphorae and centered by a carved extended clenched right fist motif with replaced brass ring. One side fitted with a drawer. The whole resting on four plain rectangular block feet. Minor old repairs to veneer on lid.

The present massive cellarette was conceived by the preeminent Anglo-Dutch banker, collector, and designer, Thomas Hope (1769-1831), and illustrated in Plate IX of Household Furniture and Interior Decoration (1807) (figure 1). It is described as being “ornamented with amphorae and with figures, allusive to the liquid element.”

Full research report available.