Lot Essay
The chairs may have been inspired by pattern book designs issued by Robert Manwaring and Matthew Darly in the 1760s. They also bear notable resemblance to a sketch for a dining chair executed by James Paine for Nostell Priory in around 1750 (see C. Gilbert, 'New Light on the Furnishing of Nostell Priory', Furniture History, 1990, p. 65, fig. 3). A comparable chair with loop back and heavily carved shoe in the Victoria and Albert Museum is illustrated in R. Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, rev. edn., 1954, vol. I, fig. 177.