A George III period satinwood dressing cabinet c1795 of exceptional quality and condition: attributed to Gillows of Lancaster & London. H 94cm, W 116cm, D 68cm This cabinet exemplifies the late 18th and early 19th century taste for ‘metamorphic' or ‘patent furniture': a simple object is manipulated, opening out to a more complex object. Here, a discreet cabinet on four legs becomes a dressing table at which a lady of very high status could engage in her preparations for the day, with multiple mirrors giving acute angles at which to contemplate the finished effects.
Made of expensive satinwood with kingwood and holly banding, the lower cupboard has two incurving doors (a further expense as curved doors were more complicated), allowing the user to sit closer to the numerous lidded boxes which would hold makeup, combs, perfumes etc.
When the top rises, three mirrors can be manipulated to give the user full survey of the toilette. It should be remembered that mirror glass was a significant cost in the overall expense of such a piece, and provision of three emphasises its luxury.
Antecedents for this model can be seen in Inc & Mayhew's 1762 ‘The Universal System of Household Furniture' and Thomas Malton's 1778 ‘Compleate Treatise on Perspective' and not least, Thomas Sheraton's 1793 ‘The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book' Plate XLIX, Part III
However, the Gillow Estimate Sketch Books provide us with clear evidence that Gillows were producing furniture in the early 1790's, remarkably similar to our dressing cabinet, as below.
With the illustrations above, we can see that our cabinet is an amalgam of the three designs.

Gillows incorporated oval flower carved tablets into chairs and case furniture from the 1770's onwards, until the turn of the century.
Lindsay Boynton (ref: Gillow Furniture Designs 1760-1800: pub Bloomfield Press 1995) described Thomas Sheraton as a ‘professional plagiarist…doing the rounds of leading shops in London'. He had a small workshop and after 1793, he did not practice as a cabinetmaker.
Susan Stuart (ref: Gillows of Lancaster and London: 1730 – 1840 pub ACC 2008) has suggested that around 5% of Gillows' production was stamped by them, and that in fact, only the Lancaster works did so, with no London marks having been identified.
Lindsay Boynton also wrote: "the assessment of Gillow furniture depends not only on style but also on the quality of wood and workmanship: when all three are satisfactorily present, the judgement is usually not in doubt"
The present dressing table exhibits the use of extremely high-quality timbers and outstanding quality cabinet work.
It is reasonable to propose that our cabinet is a production of the Gillow London workshops, made for a lady of very high status.

Conditions of Sale

BEFORE YOU PROCEED TO THE BIDDING PLATFORM PLEASE BE AWARE that:

As a weekly auction house, we require payment and collection to be completed within the 24 hours following the sale (unless stipulated otherwise) and late collections are subject to a penalty of at least $10 per lot per day. Please keep this in mind when placing your bids.

If payment is not made within our stipulated time frame, you authorise Lawsons Auctioneers to charge your card in full for the invoice amount including any applicable fees.

If payment cannot be processed via this method a 5% late payment fee will apply, calculated on the outstanding amount and compounded weekly if necessary.

By placing a bid you agree to the above and our full terms and conditions which can be viewed below.

1. Auctioneer is Agent for Vendor

Lawsons is agent for the Vendor and is not responsible for any default by the Vendor or the Buyer.
2. Highest Bidder

Subject to any reserve price, the highest bidder shall be the Buyer and a dispute shall be settled by the Auctioneer who may at any time at his absolute discretion and regardless of the fall of the hammer re-open the bidding or withdraw the Lot from sale. The decision of the Auctioneer shall be final.

3. Regulation of Bidding
The Auctioneer has the right in his absolute discretion to refuse any bid and to advance and regulate the bidding as he decides and any bid acknowledged and relied upon by the Auctioneer may not be with drawn.

4. Rights of Auctioneer and Vendor
The Auctioneer and the Vendor reserve the following rights which may be exercised by the Auctioneer without giving any reason therefore:

(a) not to offer for sale any Lot described in the catalogue; (b) to offer for sale part only of any Lot described in the catalogue;

(c) to offer (2) or more of the Lots described in the catalogue as separate Lots or together as one Lot;

(d) should such Lots referred to in (c) of this Condition not be knocked down under the hammer to a successful bidder, to offer them as separate Lots;

(e) to keep secret the existence and amount of the reserve price (if any) of a Lot;

(f) in the event that any Buyer shall successfully bid for more than one Lot at the auction -

(1) to appropriate any moneys received from that Buyer in satisfaction or partial satisfaction of the Purchase Price due in respect of any one or more of such Lots to the total or partial exclusion of amounts due in respect of any other such Lot or Lots as the Auctioneer shall see fit; and

(2) to elect at any time to treat each Contract for the sale of each such Lots as interdependent with each other such Contract or Contracts and default under any such Contract shall be treated as default under all such Contracts;
(g) to bid on behalf of the Vendor or any prospective Buyer with or without disclosure;

(h) in the event that any Lot is not sold at the auction to offer to sell same thereafter by private treaty but otherwise subject to these Conditions; and

(i) to refuse any person or persons admission to, or eject them from, the auction site.

5. Buyer Bids as Principal

Every Buyer shall be deemed to bid as principal unless prior to the auction he discloses to Lawsons that he will be bidding on behalf of a principal and supplies the full name and address of his principal and a copy of a written authority to bid for and on behalf of that principal and such authority is satisfactory to Lawsons.

6. Buyers Registration Form

Every bidder shall complete and sign a Buyers Registration Form. Proof of identity acceptable to Lawsons may be required prior to entry to the auction premises.

7. Buyers Premium
The Buyer may be required to pay to Lawsons a Buyers Premium based on a percentage of the Hammer Price. The terms of that premium will be published prior to the auction. The Buyer acknowledges that Lawsons may also receive commission from the Vendor.

8. G.S.T
"G.S.T" means the goods and services tax imposed by the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Com) (as amended)
(a) Lawsons will sell the Property to be auctioned on a G.S.T exclusive basis. The hammer price will therefore be exclusive of any G.S.T payable. Lawsons will invoice the Purchaser for the hammer price, buyer's premium and the applicable G.S.T. Lawsons will account to the Vendor for any G.S.T payable on the hammer price actually recovered form the Purchaser. The Vendor will be responsible to pay the G.S.T to the Australian Tax Office.

(b) The purchaser must carefully assess whether input tax credits for any G.S.T paid in addition to the hammer price will be available. We recommend you contact your accountant or lawyer on this question.

(c) Lawsons will mark its sale catalogue with a diamond "?" against each lot declared to be subject to G.S.T on sale. The Purchaser shall be responsible to pay G.S.T on the hammer price for lots marked with a diamond as a "taxable supply".

(d) Lawsons will provide the Purchaser with a valid 'tax invoice' if G.S.T is assessable on the sale.

(e) Any overseas buyer eligible for exemption form G.S.T must provide satisfactory proof to Lawsons that the property has or will leave the country as an export within 60 days of its purchase.

(f) No exemption of G.S.T will apply to a buyer's premium. G.S.T will be charged by Lawsons to the purchaser on the buyer's premium.

9. Statements made by Auctioneer at Rostrum
All conditions, notices, descriptions, statements and other matters in the catalogue and elsewhere concerning a Lot are subject to any statements modifying or affecting the same made by the Auctioneer from the rostrum prior to any bid being accepted for the Lot.

10. Catalogue Descriptions

(a) Any representation or statement by Lawsons in any catalogue, advertisement or brochure as to the authorship, origin, date, age, period, attribution, genuineness, provenance, condition, quality, or estimated selling price of any Lot is a statement of opinion only. Any illustrations in the catalogue are solely for the guidance of prospective Buyers and are not to be relied upon in terms of tone or colour or necessarily to reveal imperfections in any Lot;

(b) Many Lots are of an age or nature which precludes their being in pristine condition and some descriptions in the catalogue make reference to damage and/or restoration. Such information is given for guidance only and the absence of such a reference does not imply that a Lot is free from defects nor does any reference to particular defects imply the absence of others;

(c) Buyers must satisfy themselves as to all matters referred to in (a) and (b) above by inspection or otherwise prior to the date of the auction. The attention of Buyers is also drawn to the Explanation of Cataloguing Practice (if any) contained in the catalogue.

11. Exclusion of Warranties

(a) No error or misdescription or deficiency in quantity shall vitiate the sale and the Buyer shall be bound to take delivery of the Lot without any allowance or abatement in price.

(b) Any warranties which might otherwise be implied by the Sale of Goods Act 1923 are hereby excluded and shall not apply. All Lots are sold "as is" and Lawsons and the Vendor make no representations or warranties as to any Lot other than those implied by the Common Law or by statute, the exclusion of which would render this Condition void or voidable or which would constitute an offence by the Auctioneer or the Vendor.

(c) Intending bidders must satisfy themselves by inspection or otherwise as to the nature of the Lot and must accept same with all faults, patent or latent (if any).

(d) No warranty shall be implied from any affirmation made at the auction or otherwise but in all cases where an express warranty is intended, the same shall only be enforceable if reduced to writing and signed by the Vendor or by the Auctioneer as agent for the Vendor.

12. Guarantee

(a) If:
(1) within twenty-one (21) days of the date of the auction Lawsons receives notice writing from the Buyer of any Lot that in his view the Lot is a Forgery, and

(2) within fourteen (14) days of such notice, the Buyer returns the Lot to Lawsons in the same condition as at the date of the auction, and

(3) within a reasonable time thereafter, the Buyer satisfies Lawsons that the Lot is a Forgery and that the Buyer is able to give a good and marketable title of the Lot free of any liens or encumbrances, then Lawsons will set aside the sale and refund to the Buyer any amount paid for the Lot.

(b) Provided that the Buyer shall have no rights under this Condition if:

(1) he or she does not give the notice in writing within twenty-one (21) days as specified in Clause 11(a) (1),
(2) the catalogue description at the date of the auction was in accordance with the then generally accepted opinions of scholars or experts or fairly indicated that there was a conflict of such opinion, or

(3) it can be established that the Lot is a Forgery only by means of a scientific process not generally accepted for use until after the date of the auction or by means of a process which as at that date was unreasonably expensive or impractical or likely to have caused damage to the Lot;

(c) The Buyer shall not be entitled to claim under this Condition for more than the amount paid by him for the Lot and in particular shall have no claims for any loss, consequential loss or damage, whether direct or indirect, suffered by him

(d) The benefit of this Condition shall not be assignable and shall rest solely and exclusively in the Buyer who shall be the person to whom the original invoice was made out by Lawsons in respect of the Lot when sold and who has since the auction retained uninterrupted and unencumbered ownership thereof.

(e) In the event of a dispute under this Condition then the matter shall be settled by arbitration, the Arbitrator to be nominated by the President of the Auctioneers and Valuers Association of Australia (Inc.). Both the Buyer and the Vendor agree to be bound by that decision.

13. Agreement for Sale and Payment of Purchase Price Upon the sale of a Lot, the Buyer shall:

(a) unless he has already done so, give to Lawsons his name and address, and, if so required by Lawsons, proof of his identity and details of his bank or other suitable references;

(b) sign the agreement for sale (if any);

(c) pay to Lawsons the Purchase Price within two (2) working days from the date of the auction unless such other terms or period have been specified or agreed to prior to the auction. Payment shall be made in Australian dollars either in cash, by bank cheque or by telegraphic transfer direct to Lawsons Trust Account. Personal cheques may be accepted at the discretion of Lawsons but, unless prior arrangements have been made, must be cleared before delivery of the Lot.

(d) The Auctioneer may at his discretion require immediate payment or part payment of the Purchase Price in cash or otherwise upon the fall of the hammer.

14. Responsibility for Purchased Lots A purchased Lot shall be at the Buyer's risk in all respects from the fall of the hammer whether or not payment has been made and neither Lawsons nor the Vendor shall thereafter be liable for any loss or damage of any kind, whether caused by negligence or otherwise, notwithstanding that any Lot is in or under Lawsons custody or control at the time of the occurrence of the loss or damage.

15. Collection of Purchases

(a) The property in a Lot shall not pass to the Buyer until the Purchase Price has been paid in full and until all cheques given on account of same have been cleared.

(b) No Lot may be taken away during the auction nor may any Lot be taken away until the Purchase Price has been paid in full.
(c) The Buyer shall remove at his expense any Lot purchased by him within two (2) working days from the date of the auction or such other time as may be specified or agreed to by Lawsons and in this regard time shall be of the essence.

(d) Any removal shall be at the risk of the Buyer and, in such removal, the Buyer shall do no damage or shall forthwith make good any damage which may be occasioned.

(e) Any Lot or part thereof which the Buyer does not remove may thereafter be removed by Lawsons or by some person firm or company engaged by Lawsons or the Vendor and/or stored at the place at which the auction took place or elsewhere. Such removal and/or storage (whether made for the safety of the goods or for the convenience of the Vendor or Lawsons or to enable resale of the Lot pursuant to Condition 15) shall be deemed to have been made by Lawsons at the request of the Buyer and all costs incurred by Lawsons or the Vendor in relation thereto shall be immediately payable by the Buyer to Lawsons who may sue for and recover the same as liquidated damages.
(f) Any packing and handling of purchased Lots by Lawsons is undertaken solely as a service to Buyers, and will only be undertaken at Lawsons discretion and at the Buyer's risk. Lawsons shall not be liable in any event for any damage to glass or frames, irrespective of cause. Lawsons shall not be liable for any errors or omissions or damage caused by packers and shippers that Lawsons has recommended to Buyers.

(g) No Buyer shall resell or otherwise deal with any Lot or part thereof within the auction premises.

16. Remedies for non-payment or failure to collect purchases

(a) If a Buyer fails either to pay for or to take away any purchased Lot within two (2) working days of the auction or such other period as is specified at the auction or subsequently agreed to or any cheque given on account of the Purchase Price is dishonoured, Lawsons shall, without further notice to the Buyer and in its absolute discretion and without prejudice to any other rights or remedies it may have, and without being bound to give any notice, be entitled to exercise one or more of the following rights or remedies:

(1) to absolutely forfeit any moneys which the Buyer may have paid;

(2) to issue proceedings against the Buyer for damages for breach of contract;

(3) to rescind the sale of that or any other Lot sold to the Buyer at the same or at any other auction;

(4) to resell the Lot or cause it to be resold by auction or private sale. Any deficiency in the Purchase Price resulting from such resale (after giving credit for any payment made) together with the full costs incurred in connection with the resale (including commission and Expenses) shall be payable to Lawsons by the Buyer and any surplus (if any) over the Proceeds of Sale of the initial sale shall belong to Lawsons;

(5) to store the Lot or cause it to be stored whether in its own premises or elsewhere at the sole expense and risk of the Buyer, and to release the Lot only after payment in full of the Purchase Price together with Expenses accrued and all other costs incurred in connection with the Lot;

(6) to charge interest on the Purchase Price and Expenses at 18% calculated on a daily basis to the extent that they remain unpaid in part or in full for more than two (2) days from the date of the auction;

(7) to retain the Lot or any other Lot sold to the Buyer at the same or any other auction and release the same only after payment of the Purchase Price and accrued Expenses;

(8) to apply any moneys at any time due and/or any Proceeds of Sale of any Lot then due or at any time thereafter becoming due to the Buyer by Lawsons or the Vendor towards settlement of the Purchase Price and Expenses;
(9) to exercise a lien on any property of the buyer which is in Lawsons possession for any purpose;

(10) to apply any payments by the Buyer to Lawsons or any credits due by Lawsons to the Buyer towards any sums owing from the Buyer to Lawsons or to any associated company of Lawsons without regard to any directions of the Buyer or his agent, whether express or implied.

(b) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Lawsons shall be entitled to recover from the Buyer:

(1) the amount of any Vendors commission and Buyers Premium upon the purchase which the Buyer did not
complete, as determined in accordance with the Published Rates.

(2) such sum for Expenses incurred by the Auctioneer in connection with or incidental to the auction or the resale, and

(3) where applicable, any GST, or any other tax or charge relating to or arising from the sale of the Lot.

(c) Should the same Buyer purchase more than one Lot at the same sale, then Lawsons may at any time elect to treat each contract as interdependent with the others and default under any one contract shall constitute default under any or all of the others.

17. Auctioneer not Liable for Damage Loss or Injury

All persons attending an auction do so at their own risk and the auctioneer shall not be liable for any damage, loss or injury to person or property suffered for any cause whatsoever at any auction except insofar as the damage, loss or injury is caused by the direct negligence of Lawsons.

18. Law of these Conditions

These Conditions of Business shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of the State in which the sale has been conducted and all parties concerned hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of that State's Courts.

19. Sale by Private Treaty

Where applicable these Conditions shall apply where relevant to either a sale by auction or by private treaty.

20. Notices
Any notice given hereunder shall be in writing and if given by post shall be deemed to have been duly received by the addressee in the ordinary course of post.

21. Export Licence
Any application for an export licence by the buyer pursuant to any of the following:

1. The Movable Cultural Heritage Act (1985); and

2. The Wildlife Protection (Regulations of Exports and Imports) Act 1982; and

3. Any other legislation or regulations that may prohibit the movement of or export of a lot from State to State or Territory and/or out of the Commonwealth of Australia shall not affect the obligations of the buyer to make payment to Lawsons Pty Ltd within the time stipulated by these conditions. Unless there is an express written agreement by Lawsons Pty Ltd to make an application for an export licence on his or her behalf, then all disbursements and out of pocket expenses that relate to such as application shall be to the buyer's account.

INTERPRETATION CLAUSE

In these Conditions of Business the following words and expressions shall have the following meanings:

Auctioneer

Lawson Menzies Pty. Ltd ABN 36097588 899, its servants and agents except that where the context so permits it shall include the person actually conducting the auction sale on behalf of Lawson Menzies. Limited. "Forgery" A Lot made or substantially made with an intention to deceive as to authorship, origin, date, age, period, culture or source which is not shown to be such in the description in the catalogue and which at the date of the auction had a value materially less that it would have had if it had been in accordance with the description. "Hammer Price" The price at which a Lot is knocked down to the Buyer.
Lawsons

Lawson Menzies Pty. Ltd ABN 36097588 899 trading as Lawsons and its employees and agents. Lot Any item deposited with Lawsons, whether on its premises or elsewhere, with a view to its sale by auction and, in particular, the item or items described against any Lot number in any catalogue. This phrase also includes the word "goods".

Purchase Price

The Hammer Price together with any sales tax if relevant, any Buyers Premium, Expenses and additional charges due from a defaulting Buyer under Condition 15.
Reserve Price

The value which is agreed to by Lawsons and the Vendor in writing as the minimum price for which a Lot will be sold. Vendor Includes each and every one of the owners of a Lot and the person or company instructing the Auctioneer to offer that Lot for sale and where more than one jointly and severally.
Vendors Commission

The commission due to Lawsons from the Vendor on the sale or attempted sale of a Lot.

GST
Goods and Services Tax.

Words in these Conditions of Business importing the singular or plural number shall be deemed to include the plural or singular number respectively and words importing the masculine gender only shall include the feminine or neuter gender and vice versa as the case may require.

Collection Terms

As a weekly auction house, we require payment and collection to be completed within the 24 hours following the sale (unless stipulated otherwise) and late collections are subject to a penalty of at least $10 per lot per day. Please keep this in mind when placing your bids.

If payment is not made within our stipulated time frame, you authorise Lawsons Auctioneers to charge your card in full for the invoice amount including any storage fees.

If payment cannot be processed via this method a 5% late payment fee will apply, calculated on the outstanding amount and compounded weekly if necessary.

As we do not offer a postage or shipping service, you will need to factor in the cost of transport and make such arrangements for yourself. It is always a good idea to provide your chosen carrier with a copy of the invoice to make collection an easy process. Otherwise, if collecting yourself, we are open from Monday to Friday - 8am to 5pm, excluding public holidays.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us on 02 9566 2377 or [email protected]

Accepted forms of Payment

Credit Card: Visa, MasterCard, Amex*, JCB, Union Pay.
Wallet: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Alipay.
Bank/Wire transfer: Refer to invoice.
Cash & EFTPOS.

Please note Credit Card/Wallet payments incur an additional 1.5% fee.
(*AMEX payments incur an additional 2% fee.)

Shipping

Please note that Lawsons does not offer a shipping service and require all customers or their nominated party to collect and pay for their purchases within the time frame stipulated in the invoice notice. Refer to our 'Recommended Carriers' page under the Auctions tab.