Bracket, one of a pair, of gilded pinewood (the gilding not original), carved with symmetrical scrolls flanking a mask of a maenad or bacchante (wild female inhabitants of the woods in Greek or Roman mythology) with, below, a bunch of grapes, suspended from the two upper scrolls. The base of the bracket is carved with a finial of scrolls and upright foliate. The edge of the shelf (which is a replacement) is gadrooned.

Bracket, one of a pair, of gilded pinewood (the gilding not original), carved with symmetrical scrolls flanking a mask of a maenad or bacchante (a wild female inhabitant of the woods in Greek or Roman mythology) with, below, a bunch of grapes, suspended from the two upper scrolls. The base of the bracket is carved with a finial of scrolls and upright foliate. The edge of the shelf (a later replacement) is gadrooned.

Purchased with funds from the Bryan Bequest

Purchased, with its pair W.50A-1946 in 1946 from Messrs Moss Harris & Sons, 44-52 New Oxford Street, London WC1, for £300. A moderation of the price was allowed because the pair had been re-gilded in the past.

The pair came from the Ballroom at Langley Park, near Norwich, where they were shown in an illustration in Lieut-Col. Sydney G. Goldschmidt, 'The Housing of Old Furniture - part IV, Apollo, December 1944, pp. 143-149 fig. V, p. 144. There is a tradition that Chippendale was responsible for the furnishing of Langley Park. Bills were said to exist but have not been traced. This bracket, with its Bacchus mask, corresponds closely with a design published by Thomas Chippendale in the 3rd ed. of The Gentleman's and Cabinet-Maker's Director (1762), plate CLXI, dated 1760. The design was not published in the 1st ed. (1754). Langley Park was built between 1740 and 1750 by the architect Matthew Brettingham the Elder (1699-1769) for William Beauchamp, afterwards Sir William Beauchamp-Proctor, 1st Baronet Beauchamp. For the history of Langley Park see Oliver Bracket, 'Langley Park, Norfolk' in Country Life 2 July 1927, vol. LXII pp. 16-22. Oliver Brackett wrote further, 'The Furniture at Langley Park', Country Life, 8 October, 1927 (?), vol. LXIII, pp. 467-470 (where the Venus bracket is illustrated as fig. 3) and 15 October 1927, vol. LXIII, pp. 567-570. The satyr bracket is illustrated in Oliver Brackett, Thomas Chippendale. A Sudy of his life, Work and Influence. London: Hodder & Stoughton, n.d. [1924?], pl. XLI.

A pair of giltwood wall brackets from Langley Park were sold by Sotheby's, 10 October 1969, lot 103. Lots 97 and 102 in this sale were also from Langley Park.


An ebonized and gilded bracket of similar scrollwork, but without a mask, and also from Langley Park, was sold at Christie's, Thursday 24 April 1980, lot 104.

This bracket and its pair (W.50-1946) came from Langley Park, near Norwich, where they were illustrated in what was then called the Ballroom in 1927. The design of the other bracket is closely similar to a design published in the 3rd edition of Thomas Chippendale's Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, published in 1762 (plate CLXI, dated 1760). Langley Park was built largely between 1742-1750, so it has been suggested that the brackets may be earlier than 1760. There is a tradition that Chippendale supplied furniture for Langley Park but no documentary evidence for this has ever been found.

W.50A-1946