MID 18TH CENTURY

This Doric patterned hall chair, with pillared triumphal arched back, was conceived in the George II 'Roman' fashion and follows the pattern of robust hall chairs that were supplied to Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (d.1759) for the South Hall, beneath the temple-pedimented portico, of Holkham Hall, Norfolk. Today some of the Holkham chairs are displayed in its Marble Hall (L. Schmidt et al, Holkham, Munich, 2005, plate II, p. 23).
A closely related armchair but with scrolled arm terminals and saddle seat with shallow 'fin' pommel was sold anonymously at Mallam's, Oxford, 26 May 2004 (£28,000 including premium). Another was sold by Aspinalls, Mayfair, Christie's, London, 21 May 2009, lot 11 (£7,500 including premium)