SCOTTISH GEORGE III MAHOGANY BOOKCASE CABINET

SCOTTISH GEORGE III MAHOGANY BOOKCASE CABINET, ATTRIBUTED TO THE WORKSHOP OF FRANCIS AND WILLIAM BRODIE CIRCA 1775 the swan neck pediment with pierced Gothic fretwork above a crenellated and arcaded frieze, over a pair of astragal glazed doors enclosing shelves; the projecting base with a pair of circular panel doors outlined with bead moulding and enclosing shelves, on a plinth (152cm wide, 285cm high, 61cm deep) Provenance: Purchased Sotheby's, 19 November 2008, lot 233 Footnote: Note: A similar secretaire bookcase attributed to William Brodie, formerly at Yester House, is illustrated in Francis Bamford, A Dictionary of Edinburgh Furniture Makers, 1983, pl. 26. The Yester House example has the same distinctive pediment as the present lot, however some stylistic differences indicate an earlier date for the present lot and keeps it more consistent with the designs promoted by Chippendale and followers. It therefore seems likely that this cabinet would have been produced whilst William Brodie was still in partnership with his father. William Brodie, son and partner of Francis Brodie from 1767 and possibly as early as 1764, inherited the business in 1782. William pursued a less reputable life after his father's death and his demise was brought about on Ist October 1788 when he was hanged for his involvement in a robbery at the Excise Office. The very few items of documented furniture by him include a mahogany clothes press in the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland (see Bamford op. cit., pl. 27) and a suite of bookcases at Divinity Hall, Old College, Edinburgh.