Fishing for Compliments
A monumental Japanese shodana or display cabinet carved with fish and waves, Meiji period.
The star of this newsletter is undoubtedly the shodana or open display cabinet above. It is remarkable in several ways. Firstly, at 8’ 9” inches, it is considerably larger than most shodana. Secondly it is not decorated with lacquer, gilding or shibayama inlays but instead relies solely on the carving of the hardwood for impact. Finally, and most curious of all, is the subject matter. The cresting has a right whale emerging through openwork, frothing waves, while the uprights are carved with naturalistic sharks and mullet-like fish. Carp and goldfish abound in cloisonne and metalwork, while whales appear frequently in wood block prints depicting legends, but to find this selection of fish on carved furniture is most unusual.
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A gilded carp swimming up a waterfall |
Mixed metal fish in a stream |
A carved wood shark (detail) |
Below we have other different examples of working with wood. Unlike the painstaking work of the Japanese carvers, Maxie Lane, a maverick whose career spanned the Army and the Navy, the Russell Harty and Esther Rantzen TV shows and the Tate Modern, used a chain saw to carve tables from solid trunks (below left). As a lumberjack he specialized in felling very large trees, many of them elms dying from Dutch elm disease. As a tribute to these disappearing giants he created a ‘Last Supper Table’ made from a 25-ton specimen, now on permanent display at Furzey Gardens, in the New Forest. It is said to be the largest solid English elm piece in the world. In the middle is a brass-bound triple wine cooler and on the right a set of campaign shelves. These Anglo-Ceylonese shelves have multiple different timbers for the shelves and the spindles and the whole lot can be dismantled and packed away into a travelling box.
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Maxie Lane elm table, English 1980. |
George III mahogany wine cooler,
Circa 1810. £1,650 |
Specimen wood campaign shelves. Anglo-Ceylonese, 1870. Circa £5,400 |
Other new stock includes a Victorian freestanding oval satinwood desk with a raised shelf, small drawers and a book shelf arranged behind the leathered writing surface. Once again Charlie has sourced a souvenir from Admiral Lord Nelson’s heroic career – in this case a large casket made from the oak and copper of HMS Foudroyant, his flagship from 1799-1801. On the right is a scale version (32in high) of a bronze sculpture of Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Savoia, by Baron Carlo Marochetti. The full-sized original was a gift to the city of Turin and in recognition of this, Marochetti was made a Baron of the Kingdom of Sardinia by Carlo Alberto, King of Sardinia, (1798-1849).
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A Victorian satinwood oval desk,
circa 1870. £5,800 |
Copper and oak casket from Foudroyant.
English, circa 1900. £5,800 |
An equestrian figure by Marochetti, Italian, circa 1840 £38,500 |
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Finally, we are really excited to announce a collaboration with a London showroom – Coach House Pianos. Based in Wales, Coach House Pianos have leased the iconic building on the New King’s Road previously occupied by Talisman. This has an enormous ground floor showroom and we have supplied a few pieces to offset the fantastic range of pianos on offer. Our additions include a prowling tiger, large Japanese vases, mirrors, seat furniture, candelabra and a pair of hall lanterns.
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As 2covet approaches its 1st anniversary, I am delighted to report that from a standing start we now have in excess of 50 dealers on the platform, with just over 7000 items of quality stock for all to see and purchase. The year has thrown so many difficulties at everyone and I am amazed at our dealers' resolve and tenacity in these extraordinary times and their ability to move with the changing ways of business.
2covet.com |
Dates for your Diary
Coach House Pianos Opening, December 4th 2020 (Provisional)
79-91 New King's Rd, Fulham, London SW6 4SQ
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