CIRCA 1745

These armchairs can be attributed to the workshop of cabinet-maker Giles Grendey (d.1780) of St. John's Square, Clerkenwell, London based on closely related examples from Gunton Park, Norfolk that bear his label (see C. Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, 1996, p. 243, figs. 437-438). Their ambitious form with stylized husk-carved legs, paw feet and identical arm supports characterize Grendey's oeuvre whose 'signature' leg design typically features a raised scrolled profile. A number of chairs of this related model are known, many of which have formed part of renowned collections, including Percival D. Griffiths (illustrated in R.W. Symonds, English Furniture from Charles II to George II, 1929, p. 155, fig. 102). Most recently a single chair of virtually identical form sold in these Rooms, the property of a New England Collector, 23 October 2002, lot 26 ($47,800) and was previously in the collections at Callaly Castle, Northumberland. Another sold in these Rooms, 13 April 2000, lot 188 ($110,500) and a pair sold 27 January 1990, lot 105 ($264,000).