MID-18TH CENTURY

The large fireside bergere chairs, with truss-scrolled columnar legs wreathed in Roman acanthus and terminating in bacchic lion-paws, are designed in the George II Roman fashion promoted by architects such as William Kent (d. 1744). A pair of related chairs, terminating in Jupiter eagle-claws, was sold anonymously, Christie's London, 28 November 1929, lot 45; and another pair equipped with comfortable cushions was commissioned for Ham House, Richmond from the cabinet-maker George Nix (d. 1751). They were supplied en suite with a sofa, featuring this pattern of Ionic-scrolled arms, and were described as 'Elbow Chairs' in an invoice dated January 1731 (see M. Tomlin, '18th Century Furnishings at Ham House', Country Life, 10 November, 1977, pp. 1418-1421, fig. 4; and P. Thornton, 'The Furnishing and Decoration of Ham House', Furniture History, 1980, figs. 156 and 155). Amongst contemporary cabinet-makers supplying richly carved furniture of this nature was William Hallet (d.1781) of Long Acre, who helped furnish Temple Newsam House, Leeds in the mid 1730s (see C. Gilbert, 'Newly Discovered Furniture by William Hallett', The Connoisseur, December 1964, pp. 224-225).