MID-18TH CENTURY, POSSIBLY GOA

Details

A PORTUGUESE COLONIAL IVORY-INLAID ROSEWOOD SIDE CHAIR
MID-18TH CENTURY, POSSIBLY GOA
The scrolled toprail above a vase-shaped splat inlaid with acanthus husks, above a caned seat on shell-headed cabriole legs joined by baluster stretchers, on paw feet with ivory claws

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country. These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

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Lot Essay

This chair fuses Roman and Eastern elements in an 'India' taste appropriate for the fashionable parlour of the 1730s. The pattern derives from a George II Bacchic lion-footed chair, with triumphal arched back and 'India' vase splat inlaid in ivory white and black-figured rosewood; while its acanthus-garlanded 'Venus' shell derives from the French Roman fashion popularised by the Oeuvres of Jean Bérain. Related carved and lacquered chairs are discussed by C. L. Crossman, The China Trade, Woodbridge, 1988, p. 233. The latter and the present chair may be precursors of a mid-18th Century suite of seat furniture thought to have been executed for the Nawab of Arcot and subsequently bought by Lionel de Rothschild and sold anonymously, Christie's, London, 9 July 1998 (Dr. Amin Jaffer, 'On the Coast of Coromandel', Christie's Magazine, July 1998). A virtually identical pair were sold Christie's, London, Arts of India, 23 September 2005, lot 124.

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