A William and Mary rosewood and oyster veneered kneehole secretaire desk 1690-1700, in the manner of Thomas Pistor The hinged foldover top inlaid with seven circular tablets, four quarter spandrel angles and two opposing lunettes each with radiating segmental veneering, the hinged top and waved veneered triple tablet inlaid secretaire drawer enclosing two deep and two short oak lined drawers and a writing surface, above eight short oak lined drawers flanking the kneehole, the recess with one frieze drawer over a segmentally radiating veneered circular tablet inlaid door, enclosing one shelf, on 18th century shaped bracket feet (with stacked blocking), with quarter veneered sides, 106cm wide x 65.5cm deep x 85cm high, (42in wide x 25 1/2in deep x 33in high) Footnotes: Provenance Anon. sale; Christie's, London, 25 November 2004, lot 11. The present lot was subsequently offered Christie's, London, 23 July 2020, Wilton Crescent: A Robert Kime Interior, lot 198. A closely comparable circa 1690 kneehole desk to the offered lot, also described as 'in the manner of Thomas Pistor', sold Bonhams, Knightsbridge, 23 February 2021, The Gentleman's Library Sale, lot 166. Another similarly veneered example, albeit a kingwood one, was with W.R. Harvey Antiques, Witney, Oxfordshire. A further related desk, although one with historic provenance to Hotspur of London back in 1945, sold Christie's, London, 25 November 2004, Important English Furniture, lot 11. The radiating oyster veneering on the above piece relates to that on the aforementioned desks as well as to the same work for a kingwood escritoire inscribed: 'Mr Thomas Pistor, Ludgate Hill, London', which was formerly housed at Buxted Park, East Sussex. This escritoire is visible in a photograph of the drawing room at Buxted Park that formed part of a 1950 article in Country Life magazine. Such oyster veneering is also the dominant characteristic on a kingwood escritoire attributed to Thomas Pistor which sold Bonhams, Knightsbridge, 18 March 2020, lot 355. Interesting by way of comparison is an equally remarkable cabinet on chest, also with W.R. Harvey Antiques. Literature C. Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture, 1700-1840, 1996, Leeds, p. 44. Country Life, 11 August, 1950. D. Harvey, 'Three Piece Suite', www.wrharvey.com This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TP Y TP For auctions held in Scotland: Lots will be moved to an offsite storage location (Constantine, Constantine House, North Caldeen Road, Coatbridge ML5 4EF, Scotland, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue and/or after-sale information, sent out to all buyers post-sale. For all other auctions: Lots will be moved to an offsite storage location (The Packengers, Unit 9, Abbey Mead Industrial Park, Brooker Road, Waltham Abbey, EN9 1HU, England, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue and/or after-sale information, sent out to all buyers post-sale. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 10 calendar days from the auction date. Y Subject to CITES regulations when exporting items outside of the UK, see clause 13. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing