A remarkable table-top, which belonged to the legendary movie star Sir Dirk Bogarde until his death in 1999, is to go under the hammer in London this summer. The 19th century Italian specimen marble and micro-mosaic top was mounted as a coffee table and was a centrepiece in Bogarde's homes from the early 1960s. It has passed by descent through the family, and is expected to fetch up to £12,000 at Bonhams' sale of Fine English & Continental Furniture and Works of Art on 12 July.
Bogarde, who is remembered today as one of cinema's most important and intelligent talents, found fame playing Simon Sparrow in 'Doctor in the House' (1954), and later in varied film roles in Basil Dearden's 'Victim'
(1961), Joseph Losey's 'The Servant' (1963), John Schlesinger's 'Darling' (1965), Luchino Visconti's 'The Damned' (1970) and 'Death in Venice' (1971) and Liliana Cavani's 'The Night Porter' (1974). During the 1970s Bogarde worked less, finding fewer projects that interested him, and embarked on a second career as a writer producing an acclaimed series of autobiographies as well as six novels.
Bogarde's appreciation of beauty was reflected by the succession of large and attractive country houses in which he lived during the 1950s and 1960s, and also by the choice items of furniture and art with which he furnished
them. It is not known for which of these houses this table-top was purchased, but it is visible in photographs of the interior of Nore, where he lived from 1962-5. The table was then moved to all of his successive homes, most notably his beloved house in France where he lived from 1970 until 1986.
Guy Savill, Director of Fine Furniture at Bonhams, is delighted to have such a remarkable piece in the sale: "Not only is this item a beautiful piece in its own right, but it has the added advantage of having such an incredible
history," he says. "We know that while Bogarde had the table, his list of visitors reads like a 'Who's Who' of entertainment royalty. Among others, John Schlesinger, Ingrid Bergman, Judy Garland, Liza Minelli, Barbra
Streisand, Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, Vivien Leigh, Richard Attenborough, Charlotte Rampling and Elton John visited him from the early 1960s, and would more than likely have sat around this table. Lauren Bacall,
unwittingly his final visitor, did so for certain on the afternoon before he died."
The table-top itself, at almost one metre in diameter, is remarkable in its quality and intricacy. Its centre is a micro-mosaic panel of a drake swimming amongst reeds, while the radiating sections are made of marble and
semi-precious stones, including lapis lazuli, malachite, siena and portor marbles. While the decorative qualities of marble have been admired since antiquity, it was not until the early 18th century that the use of marble
and other precious minerals in table-tops became familiar in the fashionable homes of the English aristocracy. English travellers who embarked upon the Grand Tour wished to acquire beautifully hand-crafted and unusual pieces that reflected the glories of the classical world as seen on their travels. Micro-mosaic tops, from Florentine workshops in particular, were also popular 'souvenir' pieces, and the above lot combines the two techniques.
No comments:
Post a Comment