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Lot Essay
These elegant library armchairs reflect the lasting influence of the Royal architect William Kent (1685-1748) who supplied a suite of chairs with the same distinct leg profile to General James Dormer-Cottrell for Rousham, Oxfordshire, between 1739-1741 ( H. Hayward and P. Kirkham, William and John Linnell, London, 1980, vol II, p. 36, fig.67). Three years later, Kent’s pupil, John Vardy (d.1765), published Some Designs of Mr. Inigo Jones and Mr. William Kent of which plates 42 and 43 show two other variations of this model.
However, the arm design on this pair of chairs suggests a later date and an interesting possibility for the maker of these chairs is the London cabinet-makers William and John Linnell. They were commissioned by James West to execute one of Kent’s designs for a table to be supplied to Alscot Park and the Linnell’s own designs also show an obvious familiarity with Kent’s work. Two drawings of chairs from 1768-1770 are clearly updated versions of Kent’s design and their similarities with this pair of library armchairs, notably the scrolled arm support and the distinctive leg profile, could indicate they might have made them (op cit, p. 43, figs. 82-3). Related examples include four pairs sold from Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe, Sotheby’s, London, 6 December 2011, lots 28-31, and a single chair sold anonymously at Sotheby’s, New York, 18 October 2006, lot 199.
An interesting feature of these chairs is the carved egg-and-dart seat molding which is typically associated with the Yorkshire firm of Wright and Elwick. They could certainly have been familiar with Vardy’s publication and could also have made these chairs. A related set of library armchairs with carved seat moldings and attributed to Wright and Elwick were sold by the Earl of Swinton and the Hon. Nicholas Cunliffe-Lister, Swinton House, Masham, Yorkshire, Christie's house sale, 20-21 October 1975, lot 17.
The Provenance
These library armchairs were probably acquired by John Crewe (1742–1829), for Crewe Hall, Cheshire, which he inherited in 1752. A prominent Whig politician, he was created 1st Baron Crewe in 1806 and was also a notable patron and collector. In 1760, he acquired from Canaletto the magnificent view of Whitehall in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch and in the 1770’s commissioned from Sir Joshua Reynolds the famous pair of portraits of his children: 'Master Crewe as Henry VIII' and 'Miss Crewe' (exhibited, London, Royal Academy, Reynolds, Jan. 16-Mar. 21, 1986, nos. 97 and 98). Although it is unknown when the chairs left Crewe Hall, one of them appears to be photographed in the Carved Parlour in 1913 (Country Life, 3 May 1913, p.634).
Crewe Hall was originally built by Sir Ranulphe Crewe (1558-1648), Speaker of the House of Commons and Lord Chief Justice of the Court of the King's Bench, between 1615 and 1636. There were subsequent additions and restorations until a disastrous fire in 1866 when the English architect Edward Barry was hired to rebuild the interiors. The Hall was inhabited by Sir Ranulph Crewe’s descendants until 1922.
However, the arm design on this pair of chairs suggests a later date and an interesting possibility for the maker of these chairs is the London cabinet-makers William and John Linnell. They were commissioned by James West to execute one of Kent’s designs for a table to be supplied to Alscot Park and the Linnell’s own designs also show an obvious familiarity with Kent’s work. Two drawings of chairs from 1768-1770 are clearly updated versions of Kent’s design and their similarities with this pair of library armchairs, notably the scrolled arm support and the distinctive leg profile, could indicate they might have made them (op cit, p. 43, figs. 82-3). Related examples include four pairs sold from Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe, Sotheby’s, London, 6 December 2011, lots 28-31, and a single chair sold anonymously at Sotheby’s, New York, 18 October 2006, lot 199.
An interesting feature of these chairs is the carved egg-and-dart seat molding which is typically associated with the Yorkshire firm of Wright and Elwick. They could certainly have been familiar with Vardy’s publication and could also have made these chairs. A related set of library armchairs with carved seat moldings and attributed to Wright and Elwick were sold by the Earl of Swinton and the Hon. Nicholas Cunliffe-Lister, Swinton House, Masham, Yorkshire, Christie's house sale, 20-21 October 1975, lot 17.
The Provenance
These library armchairs were probably acquired by John Crewe (1742–1829), for Crewe Hall, Cheshire, which he inherited in 1752. A prominent Whig politician, he was created 1st Baron Crewe in 1806 and was also a notable patron and collector. In 1760, he acquired from Canaletto the magnificent view of Whitehall in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch and in the 1770’s commissioned from Sir Joshua Reynolds the famous pair of portraits of his children: 'Master Crewe as Henry VIII' and 'Miss Crewe' (exhibited, London, Royal Academy, Reynolds, Jan. 16-Mar. 21, 1986, nos. 97 and 98). Although it is unknown when the chairs left Crewe Hall, one of them appears to be photographed in the Carved Parlour in 1913 (Country Life, 3 May 1913, p.634).
Crewe Hall was originally built by Sir Ranulphe Crewe (1558-1648), Speaker of the House of Commons and Lord Chief Justice of the Court of the King's Bench, between 1615 and 1636. There were subsequent additions and restorations until a disastrous fire in 1866 when the English architect Edward Barry was hired to rebuild the interiors. The Hall was inhabited by Sir Ranulph Crewe’s descendants until 1922.