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Lot Essay
Long stools such as the the lot offered here were described as `French Stools' in 18th century pattern books. They were intended to be placed in window recesses and were often part of larger suites of seat furniture, the design adapted from chair patterns. One such design for a stool with scrolled ends and square legs, probably by Robert Manwaring, was re-issued by Robert Sayer in The Chair-Maker's Guide, 1766 (E. White. Pictorial Dictionary of British 18th Century Furniture Design, Woodbridge, 1990, p.119, pl.22)
A set of eight stools was supplied in 1753 by the Royal cabinet-makers Messrs Vile & Cobb to Anthony Chute for The Vyne, Hampshire, at a cost of £3.12.0 each, which featured blind-fretted square legs (A. Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London, 1968, p. 27 and pl. 28). Vile & Cobb were neighbours to Thomas Chippendale in St. Martin's Lane, London, and it is highly likely that the present stool was part of suite of furniture supplied by one of the distinguished cabinet-makers based in this part of London. A near identical stool, probably from the same suite, was sold anonymously Christie's, London, 18 November 1982, lot.11.
Lacock Abbey was founded in the early 13th century as an Augustinian nunnery but was sold by Henry VIII after the dissolution of the monasteries to Sir William Sharington who converted it to a house from 1539. During the 19th century it became the home to William Henry Fox Talbot. He is credited both for the invention of the chemical-based, negative-positive concept that defined the medium of photography until the advent of digital technology and for his vision as regards the many potential applications of his invention. He foresaw multiple artistic, scientific, documentary, and reproductive possibilities. As he mastered his technique, he documented his home at Lacock Abbey and its environs, and demonstrated, the potential of photography to provide a visual inventory of both the natural and the man-made constituents of the world around us.
A set of eight stools was supplied in 1753 by the Royal cabinet-makers Messrs Vile & Cobb to Anthony Chute for The Vyne, Hampshire, at a cost of £3.12.0 each, which featured blind-fretted square legs (A. Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London, 1968, p. 27 and pl. 28). Vile & Cobb were neighbours to Thomas Chippendale in St. Martin's Lane, London, and it is highly likely that the present stool was part of suite of furniture supplied by one of the distinguished cabinet-makers based in this part of London. A near identical stool, probably from the same suite, was sold anonymously Christie's, London, 18 November 1982, lot.11.
Lacock Abbey was founded in the early 13th century as an Augustinian nunnery but was sold by Henry VIII after the dissolution of the monasteries to Sir William Sharington who converted it to a house from 1539. During the 19th century it became the home to William Henry Fox Talbot. He is credited both for the invention of the chemical-based, negative-positive concept that defined the medium of photography until the advent of digital technology and for his vision as regards the many potential applications of his invention. He foresaw multiple artistic, scientific, documentary, and reproductive possibilities. As he mastered his technique, he documented his home at Lacock Abbey and its environs, and demonstrated, the potential of photography to provide a visual inventory of both the natural and the man-made constituents of the world around us.