LATE 18TH CENTURY

The design of this sofa reflects the new, more archaeologically correct 'antique' taste introduced in England in the last years of the eighteenth century in emulation of the late Louis XVI and Directoire styles. The rectangular tablet back and free-standing columnar arm terminals of this sofa are also characteristic of seat furniture produced by the menuisiers George and Henri Jacob, Jean-Baptiste III Lelarge and Jean-Baptiste Sené. This French influence was promoted in England by George, Prince of Wales and later George IV, in the furnishing and decoration of Carlton House under the supervision of Henry Holland, and reflected in the oeuvre of the Parisian-trained menuisier François Hervé of John Street, London who was employed at Carlton House between 1783 - 94. Thomas Sheraton's designs in the 'newest taste' in his The Cabinetmaker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book (1791 - 94) shows a related sofa illustrated in plate 10.