Bonhams 1793 : An early George III carved mahogany 'Gainsborough type' open armchair

19 Oct 2011 14:00 BST London, New Bond Street
Fine English Furniture and Works of Art, including Selected Items with Notable Provenance
Back to auction 18970

An early George III carved mahogany 'Gainsborough type' open armchair

The serpentine padded back with scrolled padded arms with flowerhead and acanthus carved arm terminals, above downswept blind fret carved and punched arm supports, above a padded rectangular seat on square blind fret carved and punched legs, with entwined fruits, flowers and acanthus, with pierced double 'C' scroll brackets, with indistinct inscription on one of the brackets, guttaed feet possibly missing.

Sold for £11,875 inc. premium

Footnotes

Provenance: by repute Ashwicke Hall, Marshfield, Wilts.

Ashwicke Hall is a Grade II listed building built 1857-60 by James Kellaway Colling for John Cavendish Orred of Liverpool. After Orred's death in 1878 the estate was rented out until it was sold in 1883. It had several subsequent owners and in 1909 was bought by Major Maurice Pope. Following his death in 1946 Ashwicke Hall was sold and converted into a school, which it remains to the present day.

The overall design and elements of the carving seen on the chair offered here relate to the celebrated suite of seat furniture from St. Giles House, Dorset which is based on pl.XXX of Thomas Chippendale's The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 3rd Edition 1762. The St.Giles suite, now commonly attributed to William Vile although previously to both William Hallett and Thomas Chippendale, was commissioned by Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 4th Earl of Shaftesbury (1711-1771) for St Giles House and sold off in the middle years of the 20th century. The attribution to Vile who was set up in business by William Hallett in the 1750's to take over many of Hallett's most important clients as Hallett was by this date largely retired as an active cabinet-maker. Vile has been linked to other pieces from St.Giles House including a rosewood commode, sold Christie's London, 22 October 1953, lot 101 and a commode now in the collection of the V&A Museum (W.74-1962).

A related pair of walnut suite (comprising of ten side chairs, three stools and two sofas) with square section pierced spandrels were sold from the collection of David Style at the contents of Wateringbury Place, Christie's contents sale, 31 May 1978, lot 84. The suite had previously been in the collection of Sir Harold Clayton, Bt., Harleyford Manor, Buckinghamshire. Four side chairs from the suite where then sold Christie's London, 6 July 1989, lot 83 and 83a. A further related side chair from a set formerly at Raynham Hall, Norfolk is illustrated in A.Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London 1968, p.203.

Category: Furniture / English Furniture and Works of Art

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