Property from the collection of Marine Society & Sea Cadets, sold to benefit Seafarers and Sea CadetsA George III carved pine chimneypiece with integral overmantel by a Mr. Tousey, 1775
the stripped pine form with a swan-neck pediment supporting three pedestals, with dentil and leaf borders, centred by a limewood oval portrait of Robert Marsham, 2nd Baron Romney carved in relief suspended by acanthus and tied ribbon, the frieze below applied with limewood naval trophies, emblematic of seamanship and learning, either side of a central tablet depicting a reclining sea cadet, each jamb incorporating large fluted columns in the round, headed by Ionic capitals, the fireplace aperture with a borders of egg and dart and leaf carved moulding236cm. high, 235cm. wide; 33cm. deep; 7ft. 9in., 7ft. 8 ½ in., 1ft. 1in.Condition reportIt is likely this magnificent chimneypiece would have been painted. The top of each upright shows evidence of an original surface which looks as if it was painted onto a gesso ground. Interestingly this may have been painted to look like faux-marble or hardstone. The carving is of high quality. And the scale is very impressive. There is now a varnished surface. There is some rubbing to carving and some losses. There are chips to extremities from transit (it has moved location several times in its history) and age. There are separations to some mitred elements and constructional joins. This is a very special architectural element which shows signs of where it was fitted, its age and its use. Fireplace aperture: 129cm. by 150cm.
Please note that Condition 12 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.ProvenanceSupplied by a Mr. Touzey for the Committee Room of the Marine Society at No. 54 Bishopsgate Street, London, in April 1775 at a cost of £30.15s 6d and then removed to Clark's Place, Bishopsgate Street, London, in 1891 (fig. 1).LiteratureHenry T. A. Bosanquet, The Marine Society, A Catalogue of the Pictures and other Works of Art, 1905, p. 14.Catalogue noteIncorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1772, The Marine Society is the world’s oldest public maritime charity and was the brainchild of Jonas Hanway (1712-1786). In 1755, reports of a French invasion led Hanway to publish Thoughts on Invasion and as war loomed, through which he sought to tackle the issue of a woefully ill-equipped and undermanned body of seamen. On 25 June 1756, Jonas met with fifty-two other London merchants and gentlemen at the King's Arms Tavern, Cornhill to discuss plans to supply clothing to several thousand seafarers for the navy. The Marine Society was founded shortly thereafter advertisements were published promising volunteers ‘with a view to learn the duty of seaman…shall be handsomely clothed and provided with bedding, and their charges born down to the ports where His Majesty’s Ships lye with all other proper encouragement.’ During the ensuing Seven Year’s War (1756-1763) the Marine Society, under the direction of Hanway, John Thornton of The Russia Company as Treasurer and Lord Romney as Chairman, raised funds to equip 5140 men and 4787 boys for the Navy. At the time of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, at least fifteen percent of British manpower was being supplied, trained and equipped by the Marine Society.
By 1774, the Society had outgrown its offices in the Royal Exchange and took up new premises at 54 Bishopsgate Street. Detailed minutes of the weekly Committee meetings describe the furnishing of the Society's new Committee Room. ‘Green Maureen Curtains’ were purchased for the Committee Room which was to have a finely moulded ceiling and a stove ‘similar to the new one in Lloyds Coffee Room’. In September 1774, Hanway presented the President's chair and his extraordinary mausoleum bookcase to honour the memory of his brother, Captain Thomas Hanway (1715-1772) (sold Sotheby's London, Treasures, 6 July 2021, lot 13). In April 1775, the present lot, a carved chimneypiece was ordered, ‘the cost not to exceed £36’ for which a Mr. Tousey was eventually paid £30. 15s. 6d. This most likely refers to the carver and gilder John Tousey, or Touzey, of The Golden Head, Bow St (1763-1781) and a member of a Huguenot family of carvers recorded active in London in the second half of the 18th century.
The chimneypiece is centred with a finely carved limewood portrait of Robert Marsham, 2nd Baron Romney (1712-1793) – the Society’s long serving President (1756-1793) – and the three trophies to the mantel embody the Society’s philanthropical goals of equipping young mariners with all the skills necessary for a life at sea. The Society’s objectives to facilitate and to provide practical and financial support for the education, training and well-being of all professional seafarers continues to this day, and in 2004 it merged with Sea Cadet Corps and remains the UK’s largest not for profit maritime organization as the Marine Society and Sea Cadets.
Property from the collection of Marine Society & Sea Cadets, sold to benefit Seafarers and Sea CadetsA George III carved pine chimneypiece with integral overmantel by a Mr. Tousey, 1775
the stripped pine form with a swan-neck pediment supporting three pedestals, with dentil and leaf borders, centred by a limewood oval portrait of Robert Marsham, 2nd Baron Romney carved in relief suspended by acanthus and tied ribbon, the frieze below applied with limewood naval trophies, emblematic of seamanship and learning, either side of a central tablet depicting a reclining sea cadet, each jamb incorporating large fluted columns in the round, headed by Ionic capitals, the fireplace aperture with a borders of egg and dart and leaf carved moulding236cm. high, 235cm. wide; 33cm. deep; 7ft. 9in., 7ft. 8 ½ in., 1ft. 1in.Condition reportIt is likely this magnificent chimneypiece would have been painted. The top of each upright shows evidence of an original surface which looks as if it was painted onto a gesso ground. Interestingly this may have been painted to look like faux-marble or hardstone. The carving is of high quality. And the scale is very impressive. There is now a varnished surface. There is some rubbing to carving and some losses. There are chips to extremities from transit (it has moved location several times in its history) and age. There are separations to some mitred elements and constructional joins. This is a very special architectural element which shows signs of where it was fitted, its age and its use. Fireplace aperture: 129cm. by 150cm.
Please note that Condition 12 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.ProvenanceSupplied by a Mr. Touzey for the Committee Room of the Marine Society at No. 54 Bishopsgate Street, London, in April 1775 at a cost of £30.15s 6d and then removed to Clark's Place, Bishopsgate Street, London, in 1891 (fig. 1).LiteratureHenry T. A. Bosanquet, The Marine Society, A Catalogue of the Pictures and other Works of Art, 1905, p. 14.Catalogue noteIncorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1772, The Marine Society is the world’s oldest public maritime charity and was the brainchild of Jonas Hanway (1712-1786). In 1755, reports of a French invasion led Hanway to publish Thoughts on Invasion and as war loomed, through which he sought to tackle the issue of a woefully ill-equipped and undermanned body of seamen. On 25 June 1756, Jonas met with fifty-two other London merchants and gentlemen at the King's Arms Tavern, Cornhill to discuss plans to supply clothing to several thousand seafarers for the navy. The Marine Society was founded shortly thereafter advertisements were published promising volunteers ‘with a view to learn the duty of seaman…shall be handsomely clothed and provided with bedding, and their charges born down to the ports where His Majesty’s Ships lye with all other proper encouragement.’ During the ensuing Seven Year’s War (1756-1763) the Marine Society, under the direction of Hanway, John Thornton of The Russia Company as Treasurer and Lord Romney as Chairman, raised funds to equip 5140 men and 4787 boys for the Navy. At the time of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, at least fifteen percent of British manpower was being supplied, trained and equipped by the Marine Society.
By 1774, the Society had outgrown its offices in the Royal Exchange and took up new premises at 54 Bishopsgate Street. Detailed minutes of the weekly Committee meetings describe the furnishing of the Society's new Committee Room. ‘Green Maureen Curtains’ were purchased for the Committee Room which was to have a finely moulded ceiling and a stove ‘similar to the new one in Lloyds Coffee Room’. In September 1774, Hanway presented the President's chair and his extraordinary mausoleum bookcase to honour the memory of his brother, Captain Thomas Hanway (1715-1772) (sold Sotheby's London, Treasures, 6 July 2021, lot 13). In April 1775, the present lot, a carved chimneypiece was ordered, ‘the cost not to exceed £36’ for which a Mr. Tousey was eventually paid £30. 15s. 6d. This most likely refers to the carver and gilder John Tousey, or Touzey, of The Golden Head, Bow St (1763-1781) and a member of a Huguenot family of carvers recorded active in London in the second half of the 18th century.
The chimneypiece is centred with a finely carved limewood portrait of Robert Marsham, 2nd Baron Romney (1712-1793) – the Society’s long serving President (1756-1793) – and the three trophies to the mantel embody the Society’s philanthropical goals of equipping young mariners with all the skills necessary for a life at sea. The Society’s objectives to facilitate and to provide practical and financial support for the education, training and well-being of all professional seafarers continues to this day, and in 2004 it merged with Sea Cadet Corps and remains the UK’s largest not for profit maritime organization as the Marine Society and Sea Cadets.
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