Lot Essay
This pair of chairs has an unidentified Spanish armorial on the reverse of the backs. It is interesting to note that the pattern of interlaced vase-shaped splat is common on both Scottish and Irish chairs.
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MID-18TH CENTURY, SPANISH OR PORTUGUESE
Details
A PAIR OF WALNUT AND PARCEL-GILT OPEN ARMCHAIRS
Mid-18th Century, Spanish or Portuguese
Each with a serpentine toprail above a pierced interlaced vertical splat below a coronet above a roundel, the reverse painted with a small Spanish coat-of-arms, above a drop-in seat covered in yellow foliate velvet, flanked by scrolled arms, above a shaped apron, on cabriole legs headed by acanthus and joined by a H-shaped stretcher, on claw feet, restorations (2)
Mid-18th Century, Spanish or Portuguese
Each with a serpentine toprail above a pierced interlaced vertical splat below a coronet above a roundel, the reverse painted with a small Spanish coat-of-arms, above a drop-in seat covered in yellow foliate velvet, flanked by scrolled arms, above a shaped apron, on cabriole legs headed by acanthus and joined by a H-shaped stretcher, on claw feet, restorations (2)
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis
Sale room notice
The cross on the roundel, below a coronet, on the backs of the chairs is the symbol of the military Order of Montesa. The person who commissioned the chairs was therefore likely to have been a Caballero de Montesa.