Lot Essay
The tapestry covering and frames which were obviously made by special order were almost certainly supplied by one of the Soho workshops specializing in both cabinetmaking and tapestry production from the early eighteenth century. William Bradshaw (d.1775) together with artist Tobias Stranover supplied a suite of furniture (a settee is signed by both of them) which is covered in similar tapestry with flower-filled vases and landscape panels within scrolling borders to Lord Brownlow for Belton House, Lincolnshire in 1720 (see W.A.Thorpe, 'Bradshaw's and Their Connection-I', Country Life, 20 September 1946, pp.530-31, fig.4). George Smith Bradshaw (1812) together with Paul Saunders (d.1771) took over William Bradshaw's premises at 59 Greek Street in 1755 and may have been partners with William prior to this date. Paul Saunders, who was appointed 'Tapestry Maker to His Majesty George III' in 1757, supplied tapestry covered furniture (including the frames) to Uppark Park, Sussex in 1761, and tapestries as well as furniture to Holkham Hall, Norfolk (c.1755-58), Petworth House (c.1759-62), and Audley End, Essex (1765-72), among other notable houses (G.Beard and C.Gilbert, eds., The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, 1986, pp.98-100 and 782-85).
These chairs were probably supplied in the 1740s to Sir Henry Bedingfeld (d.1760), who married Elizabeth Boyle, sister of the celebrated Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, for Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk. This 16th century manor underwent two significant renovations in the 1770s and 1830s. The 1830s alterations supervised by architect J.C.Buckler was an early example of the revived fashion for romantic 'Elizabethan' interiors. The estate and many of its contents were acquired by the National Trust in 1952 (see C.Wainwright, 'Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk-I and II', Country Life, 9 and 16 December 1993, pp.40-43 and pp.48-51).
These chairs were probably supplied in the 1740s to Sir Henry Bedingfeld (d.1760), who married Elizabeth Boyle, sister of the celebrated Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, for Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk. This 16th century manor underwent two significant renovations in the 1770s and 1830s. The 1830s alterations supervised by architect J.C.Buckler was an early example of the revived fashion for romantic 'Elizabethan' interiors. The estate and many of its contents were acquired by the National Trust in 1952 (see C.Wainwright, 'Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk-I and II', Country Life, 9 and 16 December 1993, pp.40-43 and pp.48-51).