Lot Essay
A billhead of Edinburgh furniture-maker Francis Brodie (fl. 1732-1777), dated 1739, shows an armchair of connected design with scallop-shells at both the centre of the front apron and at the tops of the legs (see: F. Bamford, 'A Dictionary of Edinburgh Wrights and Furniture Makers', Furniture History, 1983, p. 24A). A later trade card of the London firm of Landall and Gordon of circa 1750 shows a more exotic side chair with naturalistic carving but still of the same basic form where the vase-shaped splat is linked to the stiles by solid pieces (see: Sir A. Heal, The London Furniture Makers, London, 1953, p. 93).
A related parlour chair with a vase-shaped splat and shell-enriched apron on cabriole legs from the collection of the Dukes of Leeds at Hornby Castle, Yorkshire, is illustrated in R. Edwards and P. Macquoid, The Dictionary of English Furniture, London, rev. ed. 1954, vol. I, p. 254, fig. 85. A pair of chairs of the same conformation but with different scrolls at the top of each leg was sold from the collection of the late Brigadier W.E. Clark, C.M.G., D.S.O., Sotheby's London, 25 July 1969, lot 82.
A pair of chairs of this model were sold by the Trustees of the S.T. Cook Will Trust, Sotheby's New York, 16 October 1993, lot 347 ($151,000). The Cook chairs lacked the clasp at the base of the splat that is present on these chairs; it seems likely that it had fallen off and that all four chairs were originally from the same set. Other related pairs with shell-topped legs that have been sold recently include a pair sold anonymously, Sotheby's New York, 6 December 1991, lot 236 ($176,000), a pair that had previously been in the collection of the Aldrich family, Boston, sold anonymously, Sotheby's New York, 24 October 1992, lot 334 ($198,000), and another pair from the same Aldrich set, sold anonymously, Sotheby's New York, 21 January 1995, lot 419 ($129,000)
A related parlour chair with a vase-shaped splat and shell-enriched apron on cabriole legs from the collection of the Dukes of Leeds at Hornby Castle, Yorkshire, is illustrated in R. Edwards and P. Macquoid, The Dictionary of English Furniture, London, rev. ed. 1954, vol. I, p. 254, fig. 85. A pair of chairs of the same conformation but with different scrolls at the top of each leg was sold from the collection of the late Brigadier W.E. Clark, C.M.G., D.S.O., Sotheby's London, 25 July 1969, lot 82.
A pair of chairs of this model were sold by the Trustees of the S.T. Cook Will Trust, Sotheby's New York, 16 October 1993, lot 347 ($151,000). The Cook chairs lacked the clasp at the base of the splat that is present on these chairs; it seems likely that it had fallen off and that all four chairs were originally from the same set. Other related pairs with shell-topped legs that have been sold recently include a pair sold anonymously, Sotheby's New York, 6 December 1991, lot 236 ($176,000), a pair that had previously been in the collection of the Aldrich family, Boston, sold anonymously, Sotheby's New York, 24 October 1992, lot 334 ($198,000), and another pair from the same Aldrich set, sold anonymously, Sotheby's New York, 21 January 1995, lot 419 ($129,000)