ATTRIBUTED TO PAUL SAUNDERS, CIRCA 1755-60

The same distinctive leg design incorporating Roman acanthus-wrapped cabochons and flutes features on a number of pieces attributed to the Soho firm of cabinet-makers and upholsterers established around 1751 by Paul Saunders in partnership with with George Smith Bradshaw. Among these is a set of chairs delivered in 1757 to the 1st Earl of Leicester for Holkham Hall, Norfolk, illustrated in A.Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London, 1968, pl.369, and a suite of furniture almost certainly supplied to Thomas, 3rd Viscount Weymouth, later 1st Marquess of Bath (1734-96), between 1757-59 for Longleat, Wiltshire. The latter included eight armchairs and two sofas, of which two armchairs were sold by The Trustees of the Longleat Chattels Settlement: Christie's, London, 13 June 2002, lot 338.
A serpentine sofa attributed to Paul Saunders was sold by the late Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Radford, Christie's, London, 22 January 2009, lot 32.