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Lot Essay
The present chairs are designed in the fashionable Louis XVI manner promoted in the 1760s by designers such as Jean-Charles Delafosse but constructional features suggest they were almost certainly executed by a good London maker such as Thomas Chippendale or John Linnell. With their pearl-wreathed frames and fluted legs, they relate to a pair of armchairs sold by order of the Executors of the late Major-General Sir John Marriott K.C.V.O, C.P., D.S.O., M.C., Christie's, London, 22 March 1979, lot 99, and another pair sold by Norman Adams Ltd. at the Antique Dealers Fair, Grosvenor House, 1957, and again Sotheby's, London, 16 November 1990, lot 328.
Linnell in particular drew inspiration from Delafosse, and Helena Hayward noted that some of his designs of around 1768 for chairs and sofas are closely modelled on those of his French counterpart (H. Hayward, `The Drawings of John Linnell in the Victoria and Albert Museum', Furniture History, 1969, p. 3). One drawing from 1775 illustrates an oval back chair with turned and reeded legs much like the present lot (ibid. fig. 15). Interestingly, in the schedule of his clients, Linnell recorded both Mr. Marriott and Mrs. Marriott (in 1780), suggesting a link between Linnell and the related pairs of chairs noted above.
The cramp cuts in the seat frames are associated with the known work of Chippendale but it is likely that the technique was adopted as `good practice' by other high quality chair makers, while the presence of batten carrying holes (to secure items in transit) indicates that the chairs were to be delivered over some distance.
Linnell in particular drew inspiration from Delafosse, and Helena Hayward noted that some of his designs of around 1768 for chairs and sofas are closely modelled on those of his French counterpart (H. Hayward, `The Drawings of John Linnell in the Victoria and Albert Museum', Furniture History, 1969, p. 3). One drawing from 1775 illustrates an oval back chair with turned and reeded legs much like the present lot (ibid. fig. 15). Interestingly, in the schedule of his clients, Linnell recorded both Mr. Marriott and Mrs. Marriott (in 1780), suggesting a link between Linnell and the related pairs of chairs noted above.
The cramp cuts in the seat frames are associated with the known work of Chippendale but it is likely that the technique was adopted as `good practice' by other high quality chair makers, while the presence of batten carrying holes (to secure items in transit) indicates that the chairs were to be delivered over some distance.