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Lot Essay
This satyr-mask chair can be confidently attributed to the Clerkenwell cabinet-maker Giles Grendey. Stylistic arguments aside, the presence of the stamp of 'WH', very probably for William House, employed by Grendey from 14 April 1747 is more than compelling (G. Beard and C. Gilbert, eds., Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, Leeds, 1986, pp. 371-372). A number of chairs from Grendey's workshop bear the stamp of his journeymen - and indeed the WH stamp appears on numerous chairs of known Grendey models, including the suite of chairs at Longford Castle, Wiltshire, a pair of side chairs of a known Grendey model also stamped 'WH' were sold Christie's New York, 9 October 1993, lot 354 and a pair of open armchairs from Ettington Park, Warwickshire, sold in these Rooms, 10 July 2003, lot 120.
This chair has the rare distinction of having been owned by two of the greatest collectors of English furniture - Percival D. Griffiths and Frederick Poke. Indeed Griffiths seems to have particularly sought this rare satyr-mask model out - owning this side chair, an armchair and a sofa at Sandridgebury, Hertfordshire; these are all illustrated in R.W. Symonds English Furniture from Charles II to George II, London, 1929, pp. 31-3, figs. 11-13. A similar related parlour chair from the collection of the Duke of Leeds at Hornby Castle is illustrated in R. Edwards and P. Macquoid, The Dictionary of English Furniture, London, rev. ed., 1954, vol. I, p. 254, fig. 8.85.
PERCIVAL D. GRIFFITHS
The collection formed by Percival D. Griffiths, F.S.A (d. 1938) under the wise counsel of R.W. Symonds is considered to be arguably the greatest collection of English Furniture formed during the 20th Century. Indeed, it was Griffiths' collection that provided the content for Symonds' seminal work English Furniture from Charles II to George II, 1929. The interiors at Sandridgebury are happily recalled in 'Sandridgebury: The Country Residence of Percival D. Griffiths, published by Symonds in Antiques, March 1931, pp. 193-196. Symonds later published 'Percival Griffiths, F.S.A.: A Memoir on a Great Collector of English Furniture', The Antique Collector, November-December 1943, pp. 163-169. His collection has come to be recognised as a benchmark of excellence in the arena of collecting early to mid-18th Century walnut and mahogany furniture and is discussed by E. Lennox-Boyd, 'Introduction: Collecting in the Symonds Tradition', E. Lennox-Boyd (ed.), Masterpieces of English Furniture, The Gerstenfeld Collection, London, 1998, pp. 12-31.
FREDERICK POKE
Frederick Poke (d. 1974) was one of a slightly later group of distinguished collectors of English furniture advised by Symonds and his collection formed the basis of several articles by Symonds, published in The Connoisseur from 1939-1942 (C. Streeter & M. Barker, 'A Bibliography of Publications by Robert Wemyss Symonds', Furniture History, 1975, pp. 88-107). The dispersal of Griffiths' collection at Christie's in May 1939 provided the nucleus for at least six major collections and Poke's was one of these. A small group was sold by a descendant of Poke's at Sotheby's London, 13 June 2001, lots 69-81; this included several items formerly in Griffiths' collection. A tripod table, owned by Griffiths and then Poke, was sold anonymously, Christie's, London, 14 June 2001, lot 39 (£82,950).
This chair has the rare distinction of having been owned by two of the greatest collectors of English furniture - Percival D. Griffiths and Frederick Poke. Indeed Griffiths seems to have particularly sought this rare satyr-mask model out - owning this side chair, an armchair and a sofa at Sandridgebury, Hertfordshire; these are all illustrated in R.W. Symonds English Furniture from Charles II to George II, London, 1929, pp. 31-3, figs. 11-13. A similar related parlour chair from the collection of the Duke of Leeds at Hornby Castle is illustrated in R. Edwards and P. Macquoid, The Dictionary of English Furniture, London, rev. ed., 1954, vol. I, p. 254, fig. 8.85.
PERCIVAL D. GRIFFITHS
The collection formed by Percival D. Griffiths, F.S.A (d. 1938) under the wise counsel of R.W. Symonds is considered to be arguably the greatest collection of English Furniture formed during the 20th Century. Indeed, it was Griffiths' collection that provided the content for Symonds' seminal work English Furniture from Charles II to George II, 1929. The interiors at Sandridgebury are happily recalled in 'Sandridgebury: The Country Residence of Percival D. Griffiths, published by Symonds in Antiques, March 1931, pp. 193-196. Symonds later published 'Percival Griffiths, F.S.A.: A Memoir on a Great Collector of English Furniture', The Antique Collector, November-December 1943, pp. 163-169. His collection has come to be recognised as a benchmark of excellence in the arena of collecting early to mid-18th Century walnut and mahogany furniture and is discussed by E. Lennox-Boyd, 'Introduction: Collecting in the Symonds Tradition', E. Lennox-Boyd (ed.), Masterpieces of English Furniture, The Gerstenfeld Collection, London, 1998, pp. 12-31.
FREDERICK POKE
Frederick Poke (d. 1974) was one of a slightly later group of distinguished collectors of English furniture advised by Symonds and his collection formed the basis of several articles by Symonds, published in The Connoisseur from 1939-1942 (C. Streeter & M. Barker, 'A Bibliography of Publications by Robert Wemyss Symonds', Furniture History, 1975, pp. 88-107). The dispersal of Griffiths' collection at Christie's in May 1939 provided the nucleus for at least six major collections and Poke's was one of these. A small group was sold by a descendant of Poke's at Sotheby's London, 13 June 2001, lots 69-81; this included several items formerly in Griffiths' collection. A tripod table, owned by Griffiths and then Poke, was sold anonymously, Christie's, London, 14 June 2001, lot 39 (£82,950).