AN UNUSUAL GEORGE II MAHOGANY BOOKCASE OR CABINETCIRCA 1740, POSSIBLY IRISHThe dentil moulded breakfront cornice above a band carved with oak leaves and acorns, centred by a carved male bust, possibly depicting Jonathan Swift, the pair of astragal glazed doors flanked by stylised Ionic columns 210cm high, 125cm wide Provenance: Ex lot 40, Sothebys, London, 5th May 1989 Previously sold at Sothebys, London, Property from the collection of the late the Hon. Lady Benthall, Benthall Hall, 2nd December 1977Property from the Phillip Lucas Collection, Spitalfields HouseThe carved male bust to the 'keystone' terminal of the upper frieze of this bookcase or cabinet bears a strong resemblance to Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), the Anglo-Irish satirist and author of Gulliver's Travels and A Tale of a Tub. A similar bust of Swift was executed by Michael Rysbrack. Swift would have been an appropriate subject for an Irish bookcase of this date. Similar carved keystones with portrait busts can be seen above the doors at 10 Henrietta Street, Dublin. See Irish Furniture, The Knight of Glin & James Peill, Yale University Press, p.69 Fig 78.