Lot Essay
The watery-gadrooned serpentine frames in the French manner would originally have been mirrored in close-nailed upholstery and relate in character to the 'cabriole' chair in Thomas Malton's Complete Treatise on Perspective, 1775, pl. xxxiii. Their 'acroteria' knees adorned with a stylised palmette betray the influence of French-Grecian style.
These chairs belong to a group traditionally associated with John Cobb (d. 1778) of St. Martin's Lane, 'upholsterer' to King George III from 1761 in partnership with William Vile (d.1767). Other identical examples were in the Prescott Collection, sold in these Rooms, 31 January 1981, lot 323, others sold Christie's London, 23 June 1983, lot 162 and Christie's London, 18 November 1993, lots 54-56. A chair of this model but with a cabochon in the acanthus at the top of each leg was in the Leidesdorf Collection, sold Sotheby's London, 28 June 1974, lot 138 and a pair of chairs with additional gadrooned decoration on the arms was sold anonymously, Christie's London, 9 July 1992, lot 68.
These chairs belong to a group traditionally associated with John Cobb (d. 1778) of St. Martin's Lane, 'upholsterer' to King George III from 1761 in partnership with William Vile (d.1767). Other identical examples were in the Prescott Collection, sold in these Rooms, 31 January 1981, lot 323, others sold Christie's London, 23 June 1983, lot 162 and Christie's London, 18 November 1993, lots 54-56. A chair of this model but with a cabochon in the acanthus at the top of each leg was in the Leidesdorf Collection, sold Sotheby's London, 28 June 1974, lot 138 and a pair of chairs with additional gadrooned decoration on the arms was sold anonymously, Christie's London, 9 July 1992, lot 68.