ATTRIBUTED TO WILLIAM MASTERS

Details

A PAIR OF GEORGE II MAHOGANY SIDE CHAIRS
Attributed to William Masters
Each with waved toprail and rectangular padded back and seat with two rows of close-nailing, covered in cream and pink foliate silk-damask, on square chamfered fretwork-panelled legs joined by pierced fretwork stretchers, one chair with later blocks, the same chair with pencil inscription to the seat-rail 'Red Room', one front and one side bracket replaced (2)

Provenance

Supplied to John Murray (d. 1764), 2nd Duke of Atholl for Blair Castle, Perthshire and by descent to the present owner.

Literature

LITERATURE FOR THE SUITE
A. Coleridge, 'William Masters and some early 18th Century furniture at Blair Castle, Scotland', Connoisseur, October 1963, p. 81.
S.J. Flower, The Stately Homes of Britain, London, 1982, p. 149.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Sale room notice

Please note that one of these chairs is inscribed 'Red D/R' in chalk and not 'Red Room' as stated in the catalogue. Furthermore, one front and two side brackets are replaced.

Lot Essay

This pair, and the following lot, of mahogany fretwork-carved side chairs form part of a long set that was supplied by the cabinet-maker William Masters of Coventry Street, Piccadilly, to the 2nd Duke of Atholl (d. 1764). The set included at least fifty side chairs, several stools and open armchairs, and was invoiced by Masters in 1756 and 1760 as having 'fret down legs, under rails cut open' (A. Coleridge, op. cit, p. 81). Most of the set survives at Blair Castle and is illustrated in Blair Castle, Guide Book, n.d., p. 20 (The Red Bedroom).

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