London South West, UK - A c1760 Georgian mahogany parcel gilt six-paneled door, double moulded, raised and fielded, on one side with red baize to the other, sold at Christie's for £10,625 (estimated at £2k) on 8 July 2010. The door, which was attributed to James Athenian Stuart, was probably from the hall or dining room of Spencer House, but was moved to Althorp House in 1926 by Albert, the seventh Earl Spencer. The door handle was attributed to Diederich-Nicolaus Anderson, a reputed (German, Danish or Swedish) immigrant bronze-founder active in London at the time, who worked for Stuart on decorative items, as well as Robert Adam and William Chambers. James Stuart (1713-88), the son of a sailor, walked to Italy, eventually meeting Nicholas Revett and Gavin Hamilton and others for a trip to Greece in 1748. Revett and Stuart returned to England and published the successful book 'Antiquities of Athens' in 1762.

An Italian Rosso Antico carved marble miniature fountain piece, c1800, 11ins long by 5ins high, sold for £5,000 (estimated at £2k).

The 78 lots of The Spencer House sale above made £4,857,750 but overall, including two paintings which sold for £14m, the Spencer House sales raised over £21m.

The lot at Christie's

Story Type:  News

ID: 53549

Date Modified: July 11, 2010, 05:01 PM