Lot 32: Joseph Wilton (1722-1803)

Design for a chimney-piece
sign and dated 'J Wilton- fecit.1761.' (lower left in the margin)
black ink and grey wash, in the artist's ink line border, unframed
12 3/8 x 15 5/8 in. (31.5 x 39.8 cm.)

This George III design for a chimney-piece is dated 1761 and signed by the sculptor Joseph Wilton (d.1803). Wilton, who had worked in Florence in the early 1750s, returned to England from Italy in 1755 in company with the architect Sir William Chambers (d.1796), and was appointed a Director of the London sculpture gallery of antique casts established by the Duke of Richmond. His appointment as 'Statuary to his Majesty [George III]' was published in The Gentleman's Magazine in September 1761 (vol. XXXI, p. 431).

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis