LATE 18TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF GEORGE III SIMULATED BAMBOO AND CANED YELLOW-PAINTED ARMCHAIRS
LATE 18TH CENTURY
Each with serpentine back with geometric pierced splat, with downswept conforming sides, above a caned seat with squab cushion covered in red repp, on turned legs joined by turned stretchers, both chairs with metal label impressed 'M51', variations in size
One chair: 37¾ in. (95.5 cm.) high; 25¾ in. (65.5 cm.) wide; 21¾ in. (55 cm.) deep
The other chair: 37½ in. (94.5 cm.) high; 26½ in. (67 cm.) wide; 20½ in. (52 cm.) deep (2)

Provenance

The Edward James Collection, West Dean Park, West Sussex; Christie's house sale, 2,3 and 6 June 1986, lot 257.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The connoisseur Edward James (d. 1985) was encouraged in the 1930s by the Mount Street decorator Dolly Mann to introduce 'bamboo' furnishings together with palm-tree ornament as part of his Surrealist enrichment of Monkton, his 'magical house in the woods' at West Dean, Sussex (C. Aslet, 'Monkton House, West Sussex', Country Life, 12 September 1985, pp. 700-704).
An exhibition entitled 'The Interior Landscape of Surrealism: A glimpse into the Homes of Edward James, Roland Penrose and Lee Miller' was held at West Dean College in the Sussex Barn Gallery from 10 February-18 March 2007.

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