A PAIR OF GEORGE II MAHOGANY LIBRARY OPEN ARMCHAIRS

CIRCA 1755

Details

A PAIR OF GEORGE II MAHOGANY LIBRARY OPEN ARMCHAIRS
CIRCA 1755
Each with a rectangular padded back, arms and seat covered in close-nailed brown leather, on cabriole legs headed by acanthus and acanthus-carved pad feet, with inventory number in red paint '4585-12', lacking one carved ear, the circular pads beneath the feet later, with ash secondary woods (2)

Lot Essay

The chairs' Ionic truss-scrolled legs, with volutes wrapped by 'Roman' acanthus leaves, reflect the Roman fashion promoted by the George II court architect John Vardy's Some Designs of Mr. Inigo Jones and Mr. William Kent, 1744. They relate to seat furniture executed by the St. Martin's Lane cabinet-makers, William Vile and John Cobb, such as their mahogany chairs 'with carv'd feet' featured amongst furniture supplied between 1756 and 1762 for Came House, Dorset, and upholstered in damask 'finished compleat with Burnish Nails' (H. Honour, Cabinet Makers and Furniture Designers, London, 1969, pp. 108 and 110).

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