£10,000 - £15,000
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 ..
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