16th Century Italian Thrones Consigned for Sale
Chris Hampton, Managing Director and Head of the Furniture Department, is excited
by the consignment of a pair of 16th Century Italian thrones to the Spring
2014 Fine Sale and wonders whether they were originally made for a royal or
aristocratic family or as part of a larger set for a cathedral chapter.
A pair of 16th Century Italian thrones that will be offered in the three day
Spring
2014 Fine Art Auction on 29th/30 April 2014 and 1st May 2014, which will be available
live online.
Two of the more unusual and exciting items of
furniture
for sale in Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood's
Spring Quarterly Fine Art Auction
to be held over three days on 29th/30th April and 1st May 2014.
A pair of Italian thrones, dating from the second quarter of the 16th Century,
have
been consigned by the Dean and Chapter of Exeter Cathedral.
And before anyone worries about what the Bishop and Dean of Exeter Cathedral will
be sitting on in the future, their concerns are groundless as these chairs have
been residing in a store for a number of years, having been the original
gift
of the Reverend Sir Patrick Ferguson Davie (the fifth Baronet) in about
1960, after their purchase in London at that time.
The Ferguson Davie family were a very well known Crediton one, living at Creedy
Park, near Sandford. The Right Reverend Charles James Ferguson-Davie was the first
Bishop of Singapore, appointed in 1963.
Sir (Arthur) Patrick Ferguson-Davie was the liturgical adviser to the Anglican Province
of Jerusalem and the Middle East.
Having been educated at Ely Theological College, he was curate of Littleham
near Exmouth from 1934 until 1937 and was Vicar of St Johns in Torquay from
1945 to 1948 and Honorary Chaplain to the Bishop of Exeter in 1949.
The thrones are exciting things to behold, not least from the unanswered question:
Were they only a pair of thrones? In which case, they may have been
set
up in a royal or aristocratic household or, if there were more than two, they
may
have been seats in a cathedral chapter house.
Charles Tracy discusses the thrones in his book Continental Church Furniture
in England.
They will be included in the
antique furniture auction
of the Spring 2014 Fine Art Sale with a pre-sale estimate of £10,000-£15,000
For further information, please contact
Chris Hampton
on (01392) 413100.
- Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood
- Fine Period Furniture
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