A George III rosewood and marquetry bonheur-du-jour, circa 1780, attributed to Mayhew and Ince

This is a typical example of a piece of furniture that rapidly shot to popularity in the 1760s and 1770s, a bonheur-du-jour – these were ladies’ writing desks that were rather slim in profile and, through an ingeniously compact arrangement of drawers and pigeonholes, always had a highly elegant form. It was typical, as on the present lot, to have a raised gallery around the three outer edges of the upper section, to allow for the display of ornaments on top. Bonheurs-du-jour appear with numerous types of popular decorative styles, including some with Sèvres porcelain plaques such as the Carlin example in the Musée Nissim de Camondo (inv. CAM 126). An English marquetry example attributed to Thomas Chippendale can be found in the MET, accession number 29.114.2, but the style of marquetry here suggests the hand of the prominent cabinet-maker duo John Mayhew and William Ince. This pair were one of the most significant contributors to English furniture in the late-eighteenth century, and they created pieces for many iconic country houses including Blenheim Palace and Chatsworth House. The marquetry of the present lot is characteristic of their output – the trompe l’oeil marquetry to imitate beading is highly typical, and can be spotted on the commodes attributed to Mayhew and Ince sold in these Rooms on 29^th April 2014, lot 22, and 3^rd December 2013, lot 353. The interlacing foliate frieze also frequently appears on their work, and can be observed, among others on a pair of commodes sold at Replica Shoes ’s New York, 11^th December 2014, lot 9 and a pair of demi-lune tables sold at Christie’s New York, 9^th April 2019, lot 80.