William and Mary Kingwood Cabinet on Chest Made by Thomas Pistor in London

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William and Mary Kingwood Cabinet on Chest Made by Thomas Pistor in London

About the Item

A truly exceptional early William and Mary period Oyster kingwood parquetry inlaid two-door cabinet on chest attributed to Thomas Pistor of London. The top of this piece has a shaped moulding above a flat moulded section and a cavetto moulding leading to the convex frieze drawer above two geometrically inlaid doors retaining the original locks and hinges. The insides of the doors are similarly inlaid and reveal an arrangement of eleven oyster veneered drawers around a central geometrically inlaid door which opens to reveal five further small drawers. The base is fitted with two half width and two full width geometrically inlaid drawers and the whole is raised on flat bun feet. The sides are also geometrically inlaid and crossbanded. The roundels to the front are all crossbanded as are the doors and drawers. Attribution: This exceptional piece is one from a family of cabinets all made by Thomas Pistor, who worked in London from about 1668 to 1706. We ha ve been fortunate enough to have owned three of these pieces in the last 60 years. The first is that illustrated in Dr. Adam Bowett's book "English Furniture, 1660 - 1714 From Charles II to Queen Anne " illus. 7.30, page 209. Bowett comments in his book that as Kingwood ( Princeswood) was the most expensive and rarest exotic veneer available at the time, it was only ever used on the very best and most prized items. Although the piece shown in the book is an escritoire rather than a cabinet on chest, the second piece we acquired shortly after the first example and which this is, is indeed a cabinet on chest, again by the same maker using the same patterns as the escritoire. The attribution of these extraordinary pieces is based on an article in country life 11th. August 1950, depicting Buxted Park, the home of Sir Basil Ionedes, and showing quite clearly a conforming parquetry inlaid kingwood Escritoire and commenting that this bears the makers' label for Mr. Thomas Pistor, Ludgate Hill, London A major article on Thomas Pistor and his son, also Thomas, was published in the Journal of the Furniture History Society "Furniture History" in 2000, and was researched and written by Adriana Turpin. She rightly states that Pistor's work is on a par with the Royal Cabinetmakers, John Gumley and Gerrit Jensen. and indeed. all three worked for Colonel James Grahme who was a high ranking courtier to James II. Sadly, we cannot trace for whom this cabinet on chest was made but the possibility exists of a Royal or near Royal provenance.

Dimensions:
Height: 70.48 in (179 cm)Width: 47.25 in (120 cm)Depth: 20.87 in (53 cm)
Style:
William and Mary (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Kingwood,Parquetry
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
1680-1689
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1685
Condition:
Seller Location:
Witney, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 398T1stDibs: LU104241349574