When Cabinet-Makers Unite: A Love Story

We may not know a great deal about the day to day lives of 18th century cabinet-makers, but there is one (romantic!) story that deserves attention. The renowned cabinet-maker Giles Grendey (who we have discussed here and here), had seven children: Mary, Elizabeth, Mary (another one), another daughter, Sukey, and Sam. Sukey went on to …

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Mackinnon’s Biggest Fan: Burt the Saluki

We are finishing off the week with an introduction to the gallery's biggest fan (we are also quite fond of him!). Burt the Saluki can often be found at the gallery having a look at the collection and admiring antiques. Here is a shot of him yesterday giving his seal of approval on our wonderful …

The Age of Walnut Exhibition Spotlight: A Pair of George II Green Japanned Bureau Bookcases

A Pair of George II Green Japanned Bureau Bookcases attributed to Giles Grendey Mackinnon Fine Furniture Collection Our Age of Walnut exhibition continues in the gallery this week, and today we are highlighting a magnificent piece from the exhibition. We are always on the search for the rare, the unique, and the magnificent.  We are delighted …

Friday Finds: A Look Back at the Archives

A few weeks ago we started a new series called Friday Finds where we take a look back at the archives to learn more about the pieces in our collection.  It is a great way to put a piece in context by showing how it has been represented historically in other print sources. Today we …

Reflections on Mirrors: Origins in England

To celebrate the publication of our latest catalogue Mirrors (which you can read here), we will be sharing a few posts that look into the history of mirrors in England from the 17th century onward. Capturing ones reflection dates back to mythology: Narcissus, upon seeing his beautiful reflection in the waters, fell in love with himself and …

A Peek at the Past: Japanning as Craft

In the course of doing research on pieces in our collection, we came across this wonderful record of a letter that Edmund Verney wrote to his daughter Molly in 1689.  Molly was at school at 'Great Chelsey' when she received the following encouragement from her father: I find you have a desire to learn to …

A Rare Treasure: A George II Japanned Pier Mirror Attributed to Giles Grendey

We have always loved 18th century japanning: we held an exhibition on japanning at the gallery in the past.  Today we wanted to share an exceptionally rare large George II green japanned pier mirror attributed to Giles Grendey.  The beveled mirror plates in two parts are surrounded by a magnificently decorated shaped frame profusely decorated …

The Sign of the Chair: Exceptional Antique Chairs & Their Histories

We are delighted to announce the publication of our latest online catalogue, The Sign of the Chair: Exceptional Antique Chairs & Their Histories. The catalogue spans the 18th and early 19th centuries, and the most celebrated cabinetmakers of their time are all represented in these pages, including James Moore, Giles Grendey, William Hallett, Gillows of Lancaster …

A History of Japanning in England: The Origin of Japanning

We are continuing the discussion of the history of japanning in England today after beginning with an exploration of the lacquer trade last week. The novelty and rarity of the lacquer pieces from China and Japan sparked a desire to recreate these works in Europe. The English referred to their imitations of Asian lacquer as …

Take a Closer Look: A George II Walnut Gainsborough Chair

We recently did a post highlighting the importance of viewing furniture, and in particular chairs, from different angles.  One of the chairs we focused on was a wonderful George II walnut gainsborough chair attributed to Giles Grendey.  Today we are going to take a closer look at this chair and its stylistic influences and historical …