This large arm-chair, whose moulded, serpentined and acanthus-wrapped frame is richly embellished with sprays of naturalistic flowers accompanied by Venus' scallop-shell badge and imbricated scales, represents the palatial French style, after the 18th Century 'picturesque' manner, that was adopted by George IV for the State Drawing Room decoration at Windsor Castle. Its character relates to an armchair pattern attributed to Nicholas Morel, cabinet-maker and upholsterer of Great Marlborough Street, who in 1828 was appointed the King's 'Upholsterer in Ordinary' ( one chair of that model was sold anonymously, Sotheby's London, 9 April 1970, lot 70). Messrs. Morel and Seddon were also chosen in 1830 by George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford and 1st Duke of Sutherland (d.1833), to provide furniture for the French style rooms at his London house, which had been built for the King's brother Frederick Augustus, Duke of York and Albany (d. 1827). A Louis XV style bergère chair at Stafford (now Lancaster) House which is illustrated in D. Pearce, London's Mansions, London, 1986, fig. 155, no doubt formed part of the furnishings executed at the Aldersgate Street workshops of Morel's partner, George Seddon (d. 1868; see: G. Beard, English Furniture Makers, Leeds, 1986, p. 796). It is also possible that this armchair formed part of the same commission and that it can be identified with an entry listed in Seddon and Morel's invoice of 30 March 1830 as:
'Two elbow chairs in the style of Louis the 14th of fine mahogany highly polished with carved backs and elbows, sweeped rails and legs, moulded and enriched with finely carved foliage, flowers, coarse leaves, scroll and shell centres etc. etc., gilt in the best manner in mat and burnished gold'.
We are grateful to James Yorke for this information.
A closely related armchair, which also furnished the French style rooms created by the architects Benjamin Dean Wyatt and Philip Wyatt at Stafford House is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (see: F. Collard, Regency Furniture, Woodbridge, 1987, p. 159)