Attributed to William Vile & John Cobb: an extremely rare George III mahogany corner fish bowl stand C1764, the stand with raised circular plinth above a triangular body with gadrooned edge, canted and stop fluted corners, supported by three crisply carved cabriole legs with acanthus knees and parchment scroll feet and contemporary glass fish bowl. 94 cm overall height x 54 cm wide x 54 cm deep.

The ancient art of the keeping of Goldfish (Small Carp) spread from China to Europe at the beginning of the 17th century and bowls and stands although uncommon became a fashionable addition to the grand homes of the early 18th century.

Queen Charlotte is known to have commissioned a similar pair (by description) for St. James's Palace in 1762 from William Vile who had in 1761 been awarded the Royal Warrant, and so it fell to Messrs Vile & Cobb to supply the stands for a pair of fishbowl, to Queen Charlotte for her dressing room, She was something of a collector of fish and fauna including elephants, zebra, monkeys and of course goldfish to name but a few. Sadly, the pair supplied to St. James's Palace have been lost to time.

Notes:

Please see:

Chippendale Furniture by Coleridge, Anthony, Fig 37

Connoisseur Magazine 1960; A Goldfish Bowl Stand By William Vile

Note

The envelope containing reference notes and copies of cuttings and the former receipt will accompany the lot to the successful bidder.

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Purchased by our late client from Hotspur in 1992 bill of sale available.

Please see extra images detailing provenance.

Condition Report

There are slight water marks to the circular pad on the top other than that in good decorative and structural order, of good colour and crisp patina.

No signs of a re-polish, the gadrooned moulding is consistent and runs through correctly in colour and patina signs of old spillage of water to the top edge of the door and also the surface of the carcass above the door are visible when turned upside down.

Two of the feet show signs of either old repairs or, more likely, where the timber has been jointed to get the depth of material to enable carving of the parchment scroll feet, the carving appears to be by the same hand.

The lot strikes me as an honest item and has been through the hands of a very reputable London Dealer (Hotspur) before being purchased by the former owner (Now Deceased)

I have uploaded images of the provenance and cuttings relating to the item.

If you have any questions, I am happy to answer them if I can.

James Lees