The burning questions for anyone who owns or has guardianship of a Gibbons style carving are –
Is it genuine?
Is it carved by Gibbons himself?
Could it be from his workshop?
Is it by one of his contemporaries?
Is a later piece, imitating his style?
Is the quality equal to his work?
The lucky few have genuine attributions proven with invoices and receipts, contemporaneous accounts written by the diarists and chroniclers of the period.
The many can only speculate until new research throws up evidence one way or the other.
David H. is one such custodian of a pair of carved limewood walldrops.
Bought from Joanna Wood in 2019, provenance unknown, they are said to have hung “in a Chelsea town house” for many years. David can see a stylistic resemblance to Thomas Wilkinson Wallis, the Victorian genius carver from Louth, especially in the detailing of the birds’ breast feathers.
These images illustrate the pieces and invite the curious to reason for an answer.
Responses to info@mastercarvers.co.uk please.
