.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This set of side chairs, likely part of a suite of furniture that comprises six side chairs and two stools, was almost certainly commissioned by George Montagu (1737-1788), 4th Duke of Manchester, for one of Britain's most impressive houses, Kimbolton Castle in Huntingdonshire. The suite remained there at least until 1911, when a pair of side chairs and a matching stool were illustrated and discussed aforementioned Country Life article (photo reproduced here).
Records of cabinet-makers working at Kimbolton are essentially unknown; the sole piece of documented furniture is the celebrated medal cabinet made by the London cabinet-making firm, Mayhew and Ince, for the bedchamber of the Duchess of Manchester in 1775 (M. Tomlin, Victorian and Albert Museum Catalogue of Adam Period Furniture, London, l982, pp. 106 and 107). Though Mayhew and Ince certainly could have produced these chairs, the lack of records allows for other potential makers. James Wyatt, who worked at Heveningham in Suffolk from 1788-99 probably supplied the set of closely related chairs which were displayed in the Hall (see M. Jourdain, English Interior Decoration 1500-1830, London, 1950, fig. 149). Wyatt frequently used the cabinet-maker John Yenn to execute his designs, so this partnership may also be responsible for the Kimbolton suite. The pair of stools, which were subsequently gilded, was sold from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Saul P. Steinberg, Sotheby's, New York, 26 April 2000, lot 148. One of these stools is illustrated in P. Macquoid and R. Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, vol. III, London, 1927, p. 176, fig. 60.
Kimbolton's interiors probably remained largely intact until Knight, Frank and Rutley held a sale on the premises from 18-21 July 1949. While this sale included the famed medal cabinet, the chairs remained in the family and were apparently sold by the Duchess of Manchester at a later date.
Records of cabinet-makers working at Kimbolton are essentially unknown; the sole piece of documented furniture is the celebrated medal cabinet made by the London cabinet-making firm, Mayhew and Ince, for the bedchamber of the Duchess of Manchester in 1775 (M. Tomlin, Victorian and Albert Museum Catalogue of Adam Period Furniture, London, l982, pp. 106 and 107). Though Mayhew and Ince certainly could have produced these chairs, the lack of records allows for other potential makers. James Wyatt, who worked at Heveningham in Suffolk from 1788-99 probably supplied the set of closely related chairs which were displayed in the Hall (see M. Jourdain, English Interior Decoration 1500-1830, London, 1950, fig. 149). Wyatt frequently used the cabinet-maker John Yenn to execute his designs, so this partnership may also be responsible for the Kimbolton suite. The pair of stools, which were subsequently gilded, was sold from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Saul P. Steinberg, Sotheby's, New York, 26 April 2000, lot 148. One of these stools is illustrated in P. Macquoid and R. Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, vol. III, London, 1927, p. 176, fig. 60.
Kimbolton's interiors probably remained largely intact until Knight, Frank and Rutley held a sale on the premises from 18-21 July 1949. While this sale included the famed medal cabinet, the chairs remained in the family and were apparently sold by the Duchess of Manchester at a later date.