Footnotes

The offered armchairs appear closely related to a suite comprising various chairs and sofas which date to the period 1770-1775 and are attributed to the celebrated London cabinet maker John Linnell. Some of this important group of seat furniture is illustrated in H. Hayward and P. Kirkham, William and John Linnell, 1980, New York, fig.'s 84-85, p. 44. In fact some of the chairs from this set form part of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The attribution is largely due to the fact that this aforementioned seat furniture, including the above pair of chairs, has a number of characteristics in common with Linnell designs executed between circa 1768 and 1770. These shared elements include the overall form and ornamentation of such pieces, discussed therein by the authors, Ibid, fig.'s 79 & 83, pp.'s 42-43.

The Linnell drawings are also of particular interest and significance since they are comparable to a design for a chair produced by J.C. Delafosse, Ibid, fig. 80, thus showing the strong influence of French output in this area then. Indeed, more specifically, the carved drapery swags appearing to the tops of the legs on this Linnell seat furniture seem to be a direct reference to some contemporary Louis XVI pieces.

These swags also appear in the form of ormolu mounts on examples known, or recorded, to have been made by Linnell and can be seen most notably in this guise on various games tables. This latter work was provided by Linnell for Alnwick Castle upon behalf of the Duke of Northumberland, as well as for comparable pieces supplied to Kedleston Hall for Viscount Scarsdale, op. cit., pp.'s 141-143. Furthermore, the pronounced fluting on the seat frames and the distinctive husk carving recurs in a very similar way throughout much of Linnell's marquetry designs for larger furniture at that time.

A virtually identical pair of John Linnell armchairs to the present lot, albeit of slightly larger proportions, sold Christie's, London, 8 February 2024, Philip Hewat-Jaboor: An Eye for the Magnificent, lot 70. Another pair of this same model sold Christie's, New York, 8 April 2004, Important English Furniture, lot 290 whilst a single example sold Christie's, New York, 7 October 2015, Living with Art, lot 153.

A set of four armchairs of practically the same type sold Phillips, London, 8 October 1996, lot 86. This may be the same group that was sold Christie's, London, 6 July 1962, lot 128. Another similar pair of chairs sold Christie's, London, 10 April 1986, lot 34. A further related pair, albeit with turned feet, was offered, the Property of a Lady, Christie's, London, 26 June 1986, lot 75.