Lot 556
556
A SET OF SIX CHIPPENDALE CARVED WALNUT SIDE CHAIRS
A SET OF SIX CHIPPENDALE CARVED WALNUT SIDE CHAIRS

PHILADELPHIA, 1750-1770

Details
A SET OF SIX CHIPPENDALE CARVED WALNUT SIDE CHAIRS
Philadelphia, 1750-1770
Each with a serpentine crestrail with molded outscrolling ears centering a fan-carved shell above a solid vasiform splat over a molded trapezoidal seat frame with a shaped skirt fitted with an upholstered slip seat, on cabriole legs with ball-and-claw feet
40in. high (6)
Provenance
The Billmeyer Family, Germantown, Pennsylvania
Mrs. George Maurice Morris, Washington, D.C. Sold in these Rooms, The Contents of The Lindens, January 22, 1983, lot 322
Literature
"'The Lindens,' Washington Home of Mr. and Mrs. George Maurice Morris," Antiques (February 1938), p. 76, 78. Nancy A. Iliff, "Living with Antiques: The Lindens, Washington D.C.," Antiques (April 1979), p. 746, pl. I, p. 750, fig. 4.

Lot Essay

With powerful simplicity, the solid splats, restrained ornament, and curvilinear skirts of these chairs emphasize their striking contours. First appearing on Queen Anne examples, these features in conjunction with ball-and-claw feet represent a conservative design option still popular throughout the Chippendale period. A related chair without a shaped skirt is in the collection of Pendleton House (illustrated in Monkhouse and Michie, American Furniture in Pendleton House (Providence, 1986), p.166, fig.108). Another more heavily carved version of the design is illustrated in this catalogue as lot 602.