Oliver Cornish
Sale Coordinator for Furniture, Sculpture, Rugs & Tapestries
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Lot 84W
A pair of George III giltwood open armchairs Circa 1790, probably by Gillows, after a design by James Wyatt
12 – 23 September 2025, 12:00 BST
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £2,176 inc. premium
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Thomas Moore
Head of Department
A pair of George III giltwood open armchairs
Circa 1790, probably by Gillows, after a design by James Wyatt
Each with a pelta shield shaped back and ribboned moulded surround, with stiff leaf wrapped, lotus leaf clasped and ribboned moulded downswept arms with lotus leaf carved block terminals, over a bowed fluted seat frame, on lotus leaf carved ring turned and fluted tapering legs, the rear legs slightly splayed, re-gilt, 61cm wide x 60cm deep x 96cm high, (24in wide x 23 1/2in deep x 37 1/2in high) (2)
Each with a pelta shield shaped back and ribboned moulded surround, with stiff leaf wrapped, lotus leaf clasped and ribboned moulded downswept arms with lotus leaf carved block terminals, over a bowed fluted seat frame, on lotus leaf carved ring turned and fluted tapering legs, the rear legs slightly splayed, re-gilt, 61cm wide x 60cm deep x 96cm high, (24in wide x 23 1/2in deep x 37 1/2in high) (2)
Footnotes
A pair of closely comparable painted open armchairs, also of circa 1790, form the main part of a suite attributed to Gillows. These sold Christie's, London, 18 November 2010, 500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe, lot 160. Also, a group of four chairs of this design sold Christie's, New York, 22 April 1999, lot 76. They were inscribed: 'R. Gillow' on their undersides, which seems to refer to either Richard Gillow (d. 1811) or Robert II (d. 1795), both of whom were sons of Robert Gillow (d. 1772), the founder of the business.
This type of 'cabriolet' chair, which has a 'pelta' shield form back derived from ancient Rome, is directly based upon a great deal of French seat furniture made in circa 1770. This model, which was introduced in England during the 1770s through a design by the architect James Wyatt (d. 1813), features in an elevation for a room illustrated in J. Cornforth and J. Fowler, English Decoration in the 18th Century, 1974, fig. 13, p. 29.
The offered chairs, along with the above comparables, are very similar to a drawing executed by Gillows which appear in his renowned publication, The Estimate Sketch Books. This version of the chair, with a conforming shield shaped back, evidently formed part of a Gillows commission for chairs made on behalf of Mr Robert Peel Esq. This pattern is dated therein to 25 October 1786.