Lot Essay
The watery-gadrooned serpentine frames in the French manner would originally have been mirrored in the close-nailed upholstery and relate in character to the 'cabriole' chair in Thomas Malton's 'Compleat Treatise on Perspective', 1775, pl. xxxiii, fig. 131. Moreover, their 'acroteria' knees adorned with a stylised palmette betray the influence of the 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). An identical chair in the Leidesdorf Collection was sold, Sotheby's New York, 28 June 1974, lot 138. A related set of four chairs, though with alternative palmette and simplified arms, were sold in these Rooms, 23 June 1983, lot 162
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). An identical chair in the Leidesdorf Collection was sold, Sotheby's New York, 28 June 1974, lot 138. A related set of four chairs, though with alternative palmette and simplified arms, were sold in these Rooms, 23 June 1983, lot 162