A GEORGE III CUT-GLASS TWELVE-LIGHT CHANDELIER

The present lot relates to the designs of the London manufacturers Messrs. Parker and Perry. Founded by William Parker (d.1784) in Fleet Street, the business enjoyed the patronage of King and Court, ranging from George, Prince of Wales to William Beckford. Important commissions included those for the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth circa 1782-3 and a twenty-light chandelier for the Earl of Lincoln at Clumber Park and subsqeuntly owned by Nancy Lancaster at Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire which was sold Phillips, London, 12 February 1991, lot 137 (£126,500, including premium). After William Parker's death the firm continued under his son Samuel, who in 1803 formed a partnership with William Perry. The firm supplied chandeliers for Carlton House from 1808, those in the Crimson Drawing Room perhaps the ultimate expression of the Regency chandelier, and later for the Royal Pavilion at Brighton.

While the present lot conforms to conventional designs of the late 18th century, the distinctive S-shaped arms are particularly associated with the oeuvre of Parker and Perry, being a characteristic of the firm's neoclassical chandeliers (see M. Mortimer, The English Glass Chandelier, Woodbridge, 2000, p. 19, pls. 10, 48 and 53-55).

For comparable chandeliers see:

- The Property of the late Sir Emmanuel Kaye; sold Christie's, London, 29 November 2001 (£146,750, including premium).
- Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 25 April 2008, lot 40 ($109,000, including premium).
- Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 7 July 2011, lot 576 (£103,3250, including premium).
- Collection Juan de Beistegui; sold Christie's, Paris, 10 September 2018, lot 72 (€68,750, including premium).