A Regency Carved Mahogany and Ebonised Cellarette in the Manner of Thomas Hope

No: 11210

A Regency Carved Mahogany and Ebonised cellarette in the manner of Thomas Hope of sarcophagus form, the carved inset lid opening to reveal a lead-lined interior for six bottles, the body with ebonised scrolling brackets to the corners, and standing on gadrooned bun feet. This example is of outstanding quality.

Circa: 1815 Price: £7,250-00p.

Height:23 ½”, (60cm) Width:29” (74cm) Depth:23 ½”, (60cm).

Note: From the V & A “Thomas Hope and the Regency Style”

Thomas Hope (1769 – 1831) was an influential designer, design reformer and collector. A Dutchman, born in Amsterdam, Hope inherited from his family a tradition of collecting as well as vast wealth from the family bank. He was a collector on a grand scale and also an innovative designer who helped define what we understand as the Regency style (1800 – 30).

Hope’s extensive Grand Tour travels in Europe, Greece, Turkey and Egypt inspired his interest in antiquities as a source of designs for Regency interiors, furniture and metalwork. He was determined to reform contemporary taste by returning architecture and the arts, including interior design and furniture, to what he conceived as the spirit of classical purity.

Evolving from the Neo-classical style of the 18th century, Regency Classicism was characterised by forms and motifs from ancient Greece and Rome. To these were added elements taken from nature, from the arts of ancient Egypt and from French design of the mid-18th century – a revival of this Rococo style is seen in the use of curved forms and decoration in the shape of rocks and shells. The combination of different patterns and colours made Regency Classicism a visually rich style.

Duchess Street

In 1799, Hope bought a house designed by the celebrated architect and designer Robert Adam (1728 – 92) in Duchess Street, Portland Place, London, which he remodelled with a series of themed interiors. He recorded this work in his book, Household Furniture & Interior Decoration executed from Designs by Thomas Hope (1807), which became a major source for designers and introduced for the first time into the English language the term ‘interior decoration’.

Hope’s book was accompanied by an impassioned text setting out his reforming manifesto on design and craftsmanship. He stated that by promoting craftsmanship, avoiding the excesses of the division of labour and by employing “the talent of the professor of the more liberal arts; the draughtsman, the modeller, the painter, and the sculptor”, it would be possible to give not only “new food to the industry of the poor, but a new decorum to the expenditure of the rich”. The resulting rise in design standards would lead “not only towards ultimately increasing the welfare and the commerce of the nation but refining the intellectual and sensible enjoyments of the individual”.

The interiors created by Hope at his London house in Duchess Street were the fullest expression of his mission to transform modern British taste. He opened the house in 1802, with a grand party attended by George Augustus Frederick, Prince of Wales. To the surprise of his contemporaries, he then issued admission tickets in 1804 to members of the Royal Academy. Subsequently, there were numerous other visitors to the house, including leaders of society, artists, scholars and designers.

Hope’s startling juxtaposition of styles included Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Indian elements, as well as his own version of the French Empire style (1804 – 18). Classical sculpture and vases were displayed alongside modern paintings and sculpture. Most striking of all was the inventive and exotic furniture that Hope designed specifically for the house.

The Egyptian Room at Duchess Street was one of the most inventive interiors in Europe at the time. Here, Hope displayed his

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