A pair of George II burr walnut card tables, which are believed to have been commissioned by Sir Thomas Dyer, 5th Baronet (1694-1780) for the Elizabethan country house, Spains Hall, near Finchingfield, Essex, are to be sold at Bonhams as part of its Fine English Furniture and Works of Art Sale on 15 June 2011. Estimated at £30,000 – 50,000, the tables were acquired by Samuel Ruggles when he purchased the house in 1760 and have remained in the family until today.
Spains Hall is named after Hervey de Ispania, the first family to own the house. The Estate passed to the Kempe family on the marriage of Margery de Ispania to Nicholas Kempe in the early 15th century. When the Kempe family male line died out in 1726, the house passed to Sir Thomas Dyer, the brother-in-law of Mary Kempe. In 1760, Sir Thomas sold the house to Samuel Ruggles.
Today, the house remains in the Ruggles-Brise family, lived in by Sir Timothy and Lady Rosemary Ruggles-Brise. Lady Rosemary is the current High Sheriff of Essex.
www.bonhams.com/furniture
