A MATCHED PAIR OF LATE VICTORIAN OAK HALL BENCHES
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A MATCHED PAIR OF LATE VICTORIAN OAK HALL BENCHES

BY JAMES SHOOLBRED & CO., LATE 19TH CENTURY

Details
A MATCHED PAIR OF LATE VICTORIAN OAK HALL BENCHES
BY JAMES SHOOLBRED & CO., LATE 19TH CENTURY
Each with pierced baluster toprail between reeded uprights, above a solid rectangular seat, on reeded downswept legs joined by stretchers, with two patent diamonds, minor variations in size, the underside of one incised 'NW117LS20'
24¾ in. (63 cm.) high; 22¼ in. (56.5 cm.) wide; 13½ in. (34.5 cm.) deep (2)
Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

James Shoolbred and Company was located on Tottenham Court Road, a thriving center for fashionable furniture shops from the 1860s. They operated one of the first great department stores in London, and while their trade was diverse, they began producing furniture in around 1870. They issued an important catalogue of the firm's work in 1876 and earned a Royal warrant in the mid-1880s. Their output encompassed all prevailing styles including Art furniture, 'Old English' and 'Japanese' as is evident from the 1878 Paris Universal Exhibition in which they offered 'a very extensive selection of items' (E. Joy, ed., Pictorial Dictionary of British 19th Century Furniture Design, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1977, p. xxxvi). Much of the furniture they designed was influenced by the 'Aesthetic Taste', popularised by Oscar Wilde and the architect E. W. Godwin. The patent diamond dates to 2 December 1883.

A pair of hall stools of this design was sold from the collection of Mary, Viscountess Rothermere, Christie's, New York, 16 April 1994, lot 150. Another pair was sold anonymously, Christie's, New York, 15 April 2005, lot 120 ($14,400). A virtually identical pair was sold, Christie's, London, 26 April 2007, lot 1200 (£8,400).
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