Lot Essay
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 were 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 billhead of the 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, pl.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 billhead of the 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, pl.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)