A green velvet & crewelwork, tester, double bed, in the manner of the 17th century, from the Collection of the 1st Viscount Cowdray, Cowdray Park, Sussex, supplied by Lengyon & Co circa 1910

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Reference

10939

The tester has a green velvet cornice and is upholstered with a beige twill on the underside. The full length back panel is upholstered in crewelwork. The shaped headboard is upholstered in green velvet and faced with braid. The pelmet, side curtains and bedspread are upholstered in crewelwork. The turned posts are upholstered in green velvet. The box spring has a velvet valance faced in braid attached. The crewelwork has been cleaned and conserved.

Height 246 cm., 97 in., Width 170 cm., 67 in. Length 224 cm, 88 in.
Box Spring Length 193 cm., 76 in. (7cm gap) Width 142 cm., 56 in,

BED COMPONENTS

• Velvet tester frame
• Twill canopy with fixed crewelwork curtain
• 2 brass curtain rails detached
• Crewelwork back board marked 'Lady Pearson'
• Velvet headboard
• Velvet tester footboard with velvet upholstered uprights
• 4 crewelwork curtains lined in twill
o each Length 224 cm,. 88 in., Width 117 cm., 46 in (one faded) which completely enclose the bed when both hanging
• Crewelwork bedspread, lined in herringbone cotton
• Box spring & mattress with applied velvet valance
o not original 142 cm wide x 193 cm long - 7 cm gap
• 2 beech side rails
• Iron bedbolts x 8 / one package

In total 16 pieces - all original except box spring/mattress


The bed is easy to assemble. The beech side rails have mortices which slot into tennons and are bolted. The cotton canopy with pelmets has a hole in each corner which locates into metal rods on top of the turned sections. The velvet tester frame locates into the same metal rods. The curtains hook onto the brass rails fixed into the pelmet. The box spring /mattress rests on the rails. The bedspread fits over the top.

FRANCIS LENYON, LENYON & CO, LENYON & MORANT
Born in England in 1877, Lenygon was trained as a cabinetmaker and studied at the South Kensington Museum in London. By 1900, he found work with Art Workshops, Ltd., and soon after with Charles Duveen, son of Sir Joseph Duveen. Employed by C.J. Charles for several years, Lenygon became well-known as cabinetmaker to England's aristocracy. He opened his own firm, Lenygon & Co., in 1904, and in 1912 merged with Morant & Co., to become Lenygon & Morant, holding royal warrants under four successive British kings.

In 1910, Lenygon made his first visit to the United States to supervise the interior decoration of Whitlaw Reid, and soon opened a New York branch of his firm. As in England, Lenygon's American clients were wealthy and sophisticated and relied on Lenygon to furnish authentic and reproduction interiors in period styles. In the 1930s, Lenygon was hired by Nelson Rockfeller to serve as a major consultant to the reconstruction of Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, and selected all the furnishings for the Governor's Palace there.

Lenygon was widely known for his expertise in 17th- and 18th-century British furniture and interiors and lectured widely on the subjects. He served as president of the American Institute of Decorators and the Art and Antiques Dealers League of America. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the North British Academy. Lenygon died in New York City in 1943. He was survived by his second wife, Jeanette Becker Lennygon, whom he married in 1926. Jeannette was also a well-respected interior designer, best known for her redecoration of several rooms in the White House during John F. Kennedy's presidency and for the interior redesign of Gracie Mansion for New York mayor John Lindsay. She was also a founding member of the American Institute of Interior Designers. Jeannette died in Evanston, Illinois, in 1977.

COWDRAY PARK

'Cowdray. I settled the terms of purchase yesterday. Price £340,000. It is a big venture, but even if the oil does not prosper and we do not become more heavily involved than our present commitment... we cannot, I think, be accused of undue rashness in buying the property.'

Pearson's purchase included the splendid ruins of the great Tudor house, as well as its Victorian successor, which had been built by the Earls of Egmont: Pearson intended to replace this, referring to his investment in oil in Mexico as 'the trade that I am in - in my dreams - hoping will build the new Cowdray Castle and finish it with one year's earnings'. War, and perhaps wiser counsels, would prevail and the Cowdrays contented themselves with altering the Victorian house.

A 'princely estate' by Pearson's own admission, Cowdray is steeped in history. Dating from the early 16th century, Cowdray was purchased from Sir David Owen by Sir William Fitzwilliam, a favourite of King Henry VIII, who obtained licence in 1532 to crenellate walls and towers on the site that had been hitherto known as La Coudreye. In 1542 it passed to Sir William's half-brother, Anthony Mary Browne, whose first son would become 1st Viscount Montague. King Henry VIII visited Cowdray on a number of occasions, as did Edward VI in 1552 (when he is reported to have complained on the food being too rich) - whilst Queen Elizabeth I's visit on her Royal Progress of 1591 was later depicted in an oil by James Pryde.

Arguably one of the finest Tudor houses in England, it was devastated by fire in 1793. Little is known of the original interior at Cowdray, save for some 18th century watercolours by a Samuel Hieronymous Grimm, which document the Buck Hall.

The Cowdrays as Collectors

Cowdray Park House was built in 1874 and has been the family seat since 1909 when it was bought by Sir Weetman Dickinson Pearson, who became the 1st Viscount Cowdray. The first Viscount Cowdray and his wife were among the most prolific and discerning British collectors of the early 20th Century. The couple and their son, Weetman Harold Miller Pearson, the second Viscount Cowdray, bought most of the antiques and artworks in the Collection.

The family started out with a small company in Bradford, which became one of the most successful business empires of the 20th Century and one of the largest construction companies in the world. The 1st Viscount Cowdray won a contract to drain Mexico City in 1889, and went on to develop vast oil fields in Mexico, accruing extraordinary wealth.

All prices exclude custom clearance fees which, where appropriate, will be charged directly to the client by your receiving courier, importer or government.
Period

17th Century

Year

1650

Country

English

Provenance

The first Viscount Cowdray, Weetman Pearson, Cowdray Park. One rail bears the inventory label D2926. One rail marked 'Lady Pearson'. Supplied by Lenyon & Co, circa 1910

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