A PAIR OF GEORGE II MAHOGANY LIBRARY OPEN ARMCHAIRS, covered in their original gros and petit point wool and silk needlework

The Property of The late ANTHONY EDGAR, Esq., Sold By Order of the Executors

Details

A PAIR OF GEORGE II MAHOGANY LIBRARY OPEN ARMCHAIRS, covered in their original gros and petit point wool and silk needlework

Each serpentine rectangular padded back, arm-rest and serpentine seat covered in close-nailed needlework, one back depicting a pheasant in a landscape within a foliate cartouche and floral swags, the other back with a cockatoo and an exotic bird standing on a tree-stump within a conforming cartouche, the base of each back with a mask spouting water, each seat with a floral spray within a conforming cartouche centred at the front by a long-haired mask

The frames each with scrolled padded arms with out-turned acanthus cabochon terminals, the arms standing on a foliate-carved scroll running down and back without a break into the side rail and back leg, the serpentine apron centred by a trefoil cabochon flanked by sinuous scrolls and rockwork, the rockwork flanked by trellis engraving, matched on the side rails, the short cabriole legs headed by confronting C-scrolls centred by a berry, the legs linked to the side rails by a scrolled moulding running from their feet through the C-scrolls to the base of the arm, on scrolled feet, one with repair to one arm-support and to the top of the seat-rail beneath it, the other with repair to the arm-terminal, one inscribed in ink A24, the other with paper label inscribed in ink North Heirloom 12 (2)

Provenance

THE SET OF NINE
Almost certainly supplied to Dudley North (d.1764) of Glemham Hall, Suffolk, and the needlework by family tradition worked by his wife Lady Barbara (d.1755), daughter of the 8th Earl of Pembroke
By descent to Dudley North's sister (d.1789), by coincidence the wife of Barbara North's brother, the Hon. Nicholas Herbert
Her nephew, Dudley Long, Esq. (d.1829)
On Dudley Long's death, Glemham Hall passed to the North Earls of Guilford, of whom the original Dudley North's father had been a younger son
From circa 1860 the house was lived in by Charlotte Maria, Lady North and mother of the 7th Earl of Guilford, and her son by her second marriage, R. Eden Dickson, Esq. (hence the captions in Macquoid)
Removed to Waldershare Park, Kent, when Glemham was sold in 1923
Thnce by descent to
The 9th Earl of Guilford, Waldershare Park, Kent, sold in these Rooms, 2 August 1945, lot 106

Literature

P. Macquoid, A History of English Furniture, vol. III, 'The Age of Mahogany', London, 1906, pp. 207-209, figs. 188-190 (the illustrated chair was one of these two)
R. Edwards and P. Macquoid, The Dictionary of English Furniture, rev. ed., London, 1954, vol. I, p. 288, fig. 197
R. Edwards and M. Jourdain, Georgian Cabinet-Makers, rev. ed., London, 1955, p. 67, fig. 107
G. Beard and J. Goodison, English Furniture 1500-1840, London, 1987, fig. 7

Lot Essay

These chairs are part of a set, of which nine are recorded, that descended in the North family at Glemham Hall, Suffolk. Family tradition holds that the needlework was executed by Lady Barbara North. In 1906, Percy Macquoid was able to illustrate a design for a chairback and a watercolour of birds (loc.cit.). These were apparently drawn by Lady Barbara herself. Sadly they were destroyed in a fire at Glemham in 1913.
The set was dispersed after the 1945 sale at which they were bought by M. Harris and Sons. The subsequent history is as follows:
1. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
2. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
3. (A dove) The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, until sold Christie's New York, 17 October 1992, lot 268 and subsequently illustrated by Devenish & Company in the catalogue of The Grosvenor House Antiques Fair, 1993, p. 106
4. (A perched pigeon) The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, until sold Christie's New York, 17 October 1992, lot 268 and subsequently illustrated by Devenish & Company in the catalogue of The Grosvenor House Antiques Fair, 1993, p. 106
5. (A golden pheasant facing left) Claude Leigh, Esq., West Riddins, Sussex, sold in these Rooms. 24 May 1954, lot 123 (used as the catalogue illustration at that sale; Edwards and Macquoid, loc. cit.; Edwards and Jourdain, loc. cit.)
6. (An owl) Claude Leigh, Esq., West Riddins, Sussex, sold in these Rooms, 24 May 1954, lot 123 (then H.J. Joel, Esq., Childwick Bury, Hertfordshire, sold Christie's house sale, 15-17 May 1978, lot 123; subsequently advertised by Wellington Antiques in Connoisseur, December 1978; now in an American private collection)
7. (A peacock) Claude Leigh, Esq., West Riddins, Sussex, sold in these Rooms, 24 May 1954, lot 123
8. (A pheasant facing right) The late Anthony Edgar, Esq., the present lot
9. (A cockatoo) The late Anthony Edgar, Esq., the present lot (Macquoid, loc. cit.)

These chairs relate extremely closely to designs published by Thomas Chippendale in his A Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director. A related 'French-chair' pattern was pl. XVIII in the 1754 edition and a chair with similar upholstery was pl. XXII in the third edition of 1763. There is also a strong connection with one of Chippendale's unpublished designs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, no. 20.40.1 (18). The chairs are not just of supreme quality but have the confidence of design that is characteristic of Chippendale's best work. The use of an unbroken scroll from arm-terminal to back foot is masterful and shows an understanding of French rococo chair-design that supports an attribution to one of the very best makers of the period. Despite the lack of documentary evidence, an attribution to Chippendale seems irresistible.
Like many designs of this period, the birds in the backs are inspired by George Edwards' Natural History of Uncommon Birds published in parts from 1743-51. Their use within stitched cartouches reflects the style of contemporary Beauvais tapestries. There is undoubtely a connection between the cartouches on the knees and the cartouches of the back; this serves to reinforce the sophistication of the design

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