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Lot Essay
These chairs appear to have originated from a larger set. An identical pair of chairs, also stamped B. HARMER and HM, was sold at Christie's London, 7 October 1993, lot 97. One of these chairs is illustrated in C. Gilbert, ed., Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, Leeds, 1996, p. 257, fig. 471. Other marked chairs of this model include: three pairs sold Christie's New York, 19 October 2000, lots 146-148 ; a pair sold Christie's, London, 10 July 1993, lot 91 and a further pair sold Lyons Demesne, Works of Art from the Collection of the late Dr. Tony Ryan, Christie's, London, 14 July 2011, lot 337.
A versatile and prodigious chairmaker, B. Harmer was undoubtedly the master of a large workshop as his stamp appears on a number of highly fashionable chairs dating from circa 1795 to 1810. The design of the chairs, like other examples of Harmer's work, reflects the new, more archaeologically correct style introduced in England in the late eighteenth century in emulation of contemporary French styles.
A versatile and prodigious chairmaker, B. Harmer was undoubtedly the master of a large workshop as his stamp appears on a number of highly fashionable chairs dating from circa 1795 to 1810. The design of the chairs, like other examples of Harmer's work, reflects the new, more archaeologically correct style introduced in England in the late eighteenth century in emulation of contemporary French styles.