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Lot Essay
This pair of side chairs is virtually identical to a group of chairs with needlework covers depicting scenes from classical mythology, one formerly in the collection of Sir George Donaldson, illustrated in The Dictionary of English Furniture (R. Edwards & P. Macquoid, London, 1954, vol 1, p. 261, fig. 108). In an article on Donaldson's collection, the famed furniture historian, Percy Macquoid described the chair as a dressing chair suggesting the cupped shaped top of the back was to accommodate 'the end of the periwig' (P. Macquoid, 'English Furniture in Sir George Donaldson's Collection - I', Country Life, 2 February 1918, p. 115 and fig. 1). However, recent research suggests that most dressing chairs had arms or 'elbows' (A. Bowett, Early Georgian Furniture 1715-1740, Suffolk, 2009, p. 188). Another chair, presumably from the same set, was acquired by Percival Griffiths by 1928 for the Drawing Room at Sandridgebury, Hertfordshire (R.W. Symonds, English Furniture from Charles II to George II, London, 1929, p. 2; and partially photographed in R.W. Symonds, 'Portrait of a Collector', Country Life, 13 June 1952, p. 1810, fig. 1); this chair was subsequently with Irwin Untermyer until 1964, and is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Accession no. 64.101.955). Another pair of identical side chairs similarly upholstered were with Redburn Antiques in 1972 (The Connoisseur, June 1972).
When these chairs were sold from the collection of Gerald Hochschild at Sotheby's in 1978, the provenance was noted as 'The Earls of Coventry, Croome Court, Worcestershire', however sadly it has not thusfar been possible to confirm this. These chairs may possibly complete an original set of six chairs, which include the four needlework comparables cited above. A further set of two related needlework covered armchairs and six side chairs in parcel-gilt walnut were ordered by the 3rd Lord Leigh for Stoneleigh Abbey, Warwickshire where they were recorded in 1738 (Country Life, 14 March 2002, p. 74, fig. 7).
When these chairs were sold from the collection of Gerald Hochschild at Sotheby's in 1978, the provenance was noted as 'The Earls of Coventry, Croome Court, Worcestershire', however sadly it has not thusfar been possible to confirm this. These chairs may possibly complete an original set of six chairs, which include the four needlework comparables cited above. A further set of two related needlework covered armchairs and six side chairs in parcel-gilt walnut were ordered by the 3rd Lord Leigh for Stoneleigh Abbey, Warwickshire where they were recorded in 1738 (Country Life, 14 March 2002, p. 74, fig. 7).