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Lot Essay
The attribution of this set of chairs to George Bullock is based on similarities between them and the chair supplied by Bullock for Napoleon's use at New Longwood, St. Helena (sold from the Calvin Bullock Collection, in these Rooms, 8 May 1985, lot 103 and discussed in M. Levy, 'Houses and Furniture for Napoleon on St. Helena', Furniture History, 1998, pp. 66-67 and 94, fig. 48). The uprights are identical and the back legs, although slightly different, are both faceted and clearly related.
Similarities can also be found in other chairs by Bullock, in particular the set of four exhibited in George Bullock: Cabinet-Maker, London, 1988, no. 52, The design of this chair appears in the Wilkinson Tracings and is reproduced as fig. 50 in the exhibition catalogue, p. 114. Again, the design shows clear similarities in the uprights and shapes of the legs.
After a number of partnerships in Liverpool which marked the beginning of his career as a cabinet-maker, Bullock moved to London in 1812 where his place as one of the country's leading cabinet-makers became firmly established. Bullock's neo-classical and exotic designs appealed to many, and such was his prominence that he was commissioned by the government to produce designs for Napoleon at St. Helena and exhibited much of his work at the Royal Academy. After his untimely death in 1818, Bullock's entire finished stock was sold in these Rooms on 8 May 1819.
Similarities can also be found in other chairs by Bullock, in particular the set of four exhibited in George Bullock: Cabinet-Maker, London, 1988, no. 52, The design of this chair appears in the Wilkinson Tracings and is reproduced as fig. 50 in the exhibition catalogue, p. 114. Again, the design shows clear similarities in the uprights and shapes of the legs.
After a number of partnerships in Liverpool which marked the beginning of his career as a cabinet-maker, Bullock moved to London in 1812 where his place as one of the country's leading cabinet-makers became firmly established. Bullock's neo-classical and exotic designs appealed to many, and such was his prominence that he was commissioned by the government to produce designs for Napoleon at St. Helena and exhibited much of his work at the Royal Academy. After his untimely death in 1818, Bullock's entire finished stock was sold in these Rooms on 8 May 1819.