FIRST QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF GEORGE IV WHITE-PAINTED AND PARCEL-GILT GOTHIC SIDE CHAIRS
FIRST QUARTER 19TH CENTURY
Each with a rectangular back pierced with Gothic arches beneath a frieze topped with finials, the underside of the seat branded 'WINDSOR CASTLE, ROOM 505', the Royal crown flanked by the initials 'V R' (2)

Provenance

Almost certainly supplied to George IV for Windsor Castle and recorded there in 1866.

Literature

H. Roberts, For the King's Pleasure, London, 2001, p. 61, fig. 38 (six chairs from the same set shown in situ at Windsor Castle in 1880).

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 This lot is subject to Collection and Storage charges

Lot Essay

These chairs, with arcaded backs flowered in quatrefoiled frets, are designed in the early l9th century Gothic style promoted by architects such as James Wyatt (d. 1813), who was considered by George III to be 'perfect in that style'. The pattern for their backs derives in particular from the 13th century Coronation chair displayed at Westminster Abbey, where Wyatt had been appointed 'Surveyor' in 1776 (C. Graham, Ceremonial and Commemorative Chairs in Britain, London 1994, fig. 47). It was James Wyatt, who began the extensive work of Windsor Castle's transformation into the Gothic palace, which was completed by his nephew Jeffry Wyatt, later Sir Jeffry Wyattville (d. 1840). These chairs may have been among the George IV furnishings introduced to the Castle in the 1820s.

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