Lot 253
253
A PAIR OF GEORGE III WHITE-PAINTED AND PARCEL-GILT OPEN ARMCHAIRS
A PAIR OF GEORGE III WHITE-PAINTED AND PARCEL-GILT OPEN ARMCHAIRS

CIRCA 1770, TOGETHER WITH TWO OF A LATER DATE

Details
A PAIR OF GEORGE III WHITE-PAINTED AND PARCEL-GILT OPEN ARMCHAIRS
Circa 1770, together with two of a later date
Each cartouche-form back with arched crestrail centering a foliate clasp, the padded back, arms and seat covered in light green silk within a molded scroll and flower-carved seat frame, on cabriole legs headed by scrolled cartouches, on scroll feet, redecorated (4)

Lot Essay

These chairs exemplify the popularity of French taste in English furniture in the late 1760s and early 1770s. Leading cabinetmakers such as William Linnell and Thomas Chippendale designed various models for 'French chairs' during this period. The chairs' overall design relates to patterns published by Thomas Chippendale in his 'The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker's Director", 1762, pl. XXIII. A set of related chairs with similar molded frame in the French taste was delivered by Linnell to William Drake at Shardeloes in 1768, (illustrated in H. Hayward and P. Kirkham, William and John Linnell: Eighteenth Century Furniture Makers, New York, 1980, p. 34, fig. 61).