Art News

Bonhams to sell secretaire assembled from a cabinet reputedly supplied to King Carlos IV

LONDON.- A satinwood, mahogany, sycamore and marquetry and parcel gilt secretaire cabinet, which was reconstructed from an important cabinet attributed to Seddon, Son and Shackleton reputedly for King Charles IV of Spain in 1793, is to be sold at Bonhams, New Bond Street as part of its Fine English Furniture and Works of Art sale on 7 March 2012. It has attracted a pre-sale estimate of £20,000 – 30,000. A remarkable survival, this cabinet is not only assembled from what was once described as one of the most spectacular late eighteenth century English cabinets ever produced (exhibited at the Franco British Exhibition in London, 1908 and the Plaza Hotel in New York, 1910), it was later acquired by MGM Studios in Hollywood for use on film sets. At some point in the twentieth century, the original `King Carlos IV’ cabinet was broken up and transformed into separate