George III Gilt Wood Quill Work or Paper Scroll Classical Urns - A Pair

Description

A lovely garniture of classical finials in the Adam taste dating from the late 18th century. Decorated with applied paper … more A lovely garniture of classical finials in the Adam taste dating from the late 18th century. Decorated with applied paper scroll or quill work and gilt highlights. Nice neoclassical shape. Old red paper lines the bottoms. Women in the 18th Century spent their leisure time quilling their own designs. Small pieces of paper were wound around a quill to create a basic coil shape. These shaped coils were arranged to form flowers, leaves and other ornamental patterns and packed tightly and glued on their edge.

The quill work on these finials is floral, leafy and also has geometric patterns. Mostly gilded brown paper was used with some quillwork done in a turquoise color. The finials are large and probably were displayed on a fireplace mantle. Finial tops are hand turned and have pegged ends fitted to the square bases.

These measure about 15 1/2 inches tall. The bases are 4 5/8 inches x 4 3/4 inches.

After more than 200 years, time has left its mark. There is wear as you can see. Paint has chipped and the glue holding the rolled paper in place has dried with age and there is missing quillwork. The finials are truly one of a kind and remarkable examples of George III 18th century decorative style - they display beautifully. less