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Lot Essay
The chairs reflect the Empire or French/antique style of furniture first introduced to London around 1800 by the connoisseur Thomas Hope (d.1831) through the furnishing of his London mansion/museum. Their Grecian palm-flowered tablets derive from Hope's chair illustrated in his Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, 1807 (pl. 25 no.4); while their reeded X-frames with palm-flowered ties and paw feet relate to Hope's stool featuring the poetry deity Apollo's griffin monopodiae (T. Hope, ibid, pl. 12, no.4 ). These chairs and Hope's stool derive from a stool pattern in C. Percier and P. Fontaine's Recueil de Decorations Interieurs, 1801, pl. 39, no. 5.
These boldly carved armchairs closely resemble a large suite of seat furniture supplied to George IV for Windsor Castle in the large refurbishment undertaken by Messrs. Morel and Seddon in the late 1820's. The suite, totaling fifty-three pieces, was divided between the library and His Majesty's writing room. Amongst the suite were a group of twelve giltwood armchairs, the from X-form supports of which are very similar to the present pair although the backs have slightly broader outline and lack the tablet on the current examples (see H. Roberts, For The King's Pleasure, London, 2001, fig. 110, p. 111). Also in the Royal collection is a center table supplied for the drawing room which bears a very similar acanthus-collared paw foot and is illustrated in H. Roberts, ibid, fig. 276, p.231 and G. de Bellaigue and P. Kirkham, 'George IV and the Furnishing of Windsor Castle', Furniture History, 1972.
The partnership of Morel and Seddon was formed shortly after Nicholas Morel's personal selection by George IV to furnish the royal apartments at Windsor Castle in 1826. With such an undertaking in hand Morel, the designer in the partnership, required the facilities of a large and established workshop. The firm of Seddon, having been established circa 1750 had become one of the largest furniture-making firms in London by the end of the 18th century. Although no dates are recorded, Morel appears to have dissolved his partnership with Robert Hughes and likewise, George Seddon seems to have entered this union without his elder brother, Thomas. Evidence that the newly formed partnership appears to have done no work outside the Windsor commission would suggest that this union was formed specifically to supply the king.
These boldly carved armchairs closely resemble a large suite of seat furniture supplied to George IV for Windsor Castle in the large refurbishment undertaken by Messrs. Morel and Seddon in the late 1820's. The suite, totaling fifty-three pieces, was divided between the library and His Majesty's writing room. Amongst the suite were a group of twelve giltwood armchairs, the from X-form supports of which are very similar to the present pair although the backs have slightly broader outline and lack the tablet on the current examples (see H. Roberts, For The King's Pleasure, London, 2001, fig. 110, p. 111). Also in the Royal collection is a center table supplied for the drawing room which bears a very similar acanthus-collared paw foot and is illustrated in H. Roberts, ibid, fig. 276, p.231 and G. de Bellaigue and P. Kirkham, 'George IV and the Furnishing of Windsor Castle', Furniture History, 1972.
The partnership of Morel and Seddon was formed shortly after Nicholas Morel's personal selection by George IV to furnish the royal apartments at Windsor Castle in 1826. With such an undertaking in hand Morel, the designer in the partnership, required the facilities of a large and established workshop. The firm of Seddon, having been established circa 1750 had become one of the largest furniture-making firms in London by the end of the 18th century. Although no dates are recorded, Morel appears to have dissolved his partnership with Robert Hughes and likewise, George Seddon seems to have entered this union without his elder brother, Thomas. Evidence that the newly formed partnership appears to have done no work outside the Windsor commission would suggest that this union was formed specifically to supply the king.