Beschreibung:

A South German walnut serpentine fronted desk, second quarter 18th century, the gilt tooled leather inset top above an arrangement of five drawers around the kneehole, each cast gilt metal handle incorporating the monogram ‘A R’ between armorial devices and surmounted by a crown, on square section tapering cabriole legs, 79cm high, 118cm wide, 65cm deep The gilt metal handles of this desk incorporate the crowned monogram ‘A R’. It seems very likely that the initials are for Augustus Rex King Augustus II of Poland or his son Augustus III. The monogram is strikingly similar to the initials used by the Meissen porcelain factory during the same period. The Meissen ‘AR’ monogram was introduced in the early part of the 18th century. It was a special mark reserved for objects used by the court of Elector Augustus the Strong, founder of the Meissen factory and later reigning monarch of Poland, King Augustus II. The monogram was also added to pieces produced for the court of his son, Augustus III, who succeeded him in 1733. All court pieces were marked with the AR monogram, and occasionally the mark was added to gifts produced for royal visitors. Whilst impossible to conclude for certain that this desk was part of the collection of the Royal House of Saxony, it is certainly interesting to note how the details correlate. Provenance: Bequeathed by the Major Charles Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot KCVO, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury to the Hon. Mrs E. W.H. Eliot, thence by direct descent to the current owner. Copies of paperwork are available with this lot to support the provenance. The seat of the Earls of Shrewsbury was Alton Towers until it was sold in 1924.