Provenance

Made by Tatham, Bailey and Sanders for the Crimson Drawing Room, Carlton House 1814. Messrs Tatham & Bailey were responsible for supplying furniture to the Royal Pavilion and the Prince Regent's household generally. Founded in the 1780s, they had premises at 14 Mount Street. The partnership was originally between George Elward and William Marsh, with Edward Bailey joining the firm in 1793 and Thomas Tatham (brother of the designer Charles Heathcote Tatham) in 1798. From 1803 to 1811 the firm styled itself 'Marsh and Tatham' or 'Tatham and Bailey'. They were joined by Richard Saunders in 1811, and thereafter were generally known as 'Tatham, Bailey and Saunders'. The griffins may have been inspired by an 'Antique frament of a table foot' in the Vatican published by Charles Heathcote Tatham. Delivered to Morel & Seddon in December 1828 for repair as part of the group of furniture and furnishings supplied between 1827 and 1829 to King George IV for The Long Gallery (now the Grand Corridor) at Windsor Castle. They were regilded and the slabs repolished at a cost of £290 16s. Nicholas Morel had formerly worked for The Prince of Wales, later George IV, at Carlton House and the Royal Pavilion at Brighton. Subsequently, he was commissioned to design and furnish the newly built apartments designed by Sir Jeffry Wyattville (1766-1840) for the King at Windsor Castle. In order to fulfil the contract he entered into partnership with George Seddon III whose family had large and long established furniture workshops in Aldersgate Street in the City of London.