A PAIR OF GEORGE III LACQUERED-BRASS PANELS, DELIVERED BY THOMAS CHIPPENDALE, 1774, ORIGINALLY PART OF THE HEXAGONAL HALL LANTERN AT HAREWOOD HOUSE

A PAIR OF GEORGE III LACQUERED-BRASS PANELS
DELIVERED BY THOMAS CHIPPENDALE, 1774, ORIGINALLY PART OF THE HEXAGONAL HALL LANTERN AT HAREWOOD HOUSE
Each arched panel surmounted by a flaming urn finial on tablet support with draped berried swags below, each panel flanked by terms representing Luna and Aurora, goddesses of the moon and the dawn decorated with bellflower pendants; the base of each panel issuing laurel swags from a central demi-patera; together with two detached double foliate scrolls, cast in the round and joined at the tip, these appear to be the original branches joining the lantern and the corona, which were reused to the base of each panel between the legs when the lantern was converted into a screen; four detached squared legs terminating in scroll feet, added in the 19th century as the legs of the firescreen and a set of 19th century hinges, detached and added when the lantern was converted to a firescreen, the back of each panel probably all 18th-century and slightly adapted when the conversion was made from lantern to screen, lacking glass panels, some elements struck with Arabic numbers '2', '3', '4', '6' and '8', including the hinges, suggesting that these stamps are 19th century, some 18th century elements with notched numbers, holes under each lower corner for the original feet and the subsequent modifications, minor repairs and restorations
45 ¼ in. (115 cm.) high; 17 ¾ in. (45 cm.) wide, each panel

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Pre-Lot Text
LOTS 120 AND 121
THREE PANELS FROM THE HAREWOOD HOUSE HEXAGONAL HALL LANTERN SUPPLIED BY THOMAS CHIPPENDALE
The following two lots form part of the exceptional hexagonal lantern delivered by Thomas Chippendale for the Hall of Harewood House, Yorkshire in 1774 at the then enormous cost of £123 8s. Following changes in fashion and advancements in lighting technology, the lantern was removed from the Hall, the parts divided and formed into a pair of firescreens. In the first decade of the 19th century, an extensive Regency refurbishment was undertaken at Harewood. At this time the Hall was furnished in the Egyptian taste, incorporating, for example, a set of Klismos chairs (lots 107 and 108). The Chippendale lantern was removed at this time. Interestingly, a photograph of the Egyptian Hall, taken in 1914, shows an early 19th century hall light in situ (see lot 107). This light is apparently that which replaced the Chippendale lantern. It is likely that Trollope & Sons converted the lantern into a pair of firescreens during their interior renovations at Harewood in the mid-19th Century. The sensitive nature of the reuse and adaption of the lantern, stands testament to the high regard held for works by Chippendale at Harewood. One firescreen was photographed by Country Life beside one of the library chimney-piece in 1914 and both are recorded in the Christie’s valuation of 1948. Today, only these three panels (one firescreen) remain, and the whereabouts of the other is unknown.