ATTRIBUTED TO GILES GRENDEY, MID-18TH CENTURY

These open armchairs are attributed to Giles Grendey (d. 1780) of St. John’s Square, Clerkenwell, based on their close similarity to chairs by this maker. This pair is virtually identical to a set of sixteen in the collection at Stourhead, Wiltshire, the former seat of the Hoare family (NT 731607-1 to -16). The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, 1660-1840 records that Grendey was supplying furniture from 1746–56 to Sir Henry Hoare at Stourhead, including chairs at a cost of £64 on 29 April 1746 – although these were more likely the fourteen dining room chairs (NT 731628-1 to -14). A pair of chairs of comparable model by Grendey, probably from the set supplied to the Hon. George Shirley (d. 1787), fifth son of the 1st Earl of Ferrars (d. 1717) from whom he inherited Ettington Park, Warwickshire, bear the same journeyman’s initial stamp ‘WF’ as these, thereby strengthening the attribution to Grendey (sold Christie’s, London, 23 May 2012, lot 279, £133,250 inc. premium). Other pairs from ‘The Ettingham Park suite’ bear the journeyman’s stamp ‘WH’ (sold Christie's, London, 4 July 2002, lot 20, £259,960 inc. premium and Christie's, London, 10 July 2003, lot 120, £218,050 inc. premium). Although ‘WF’ is yet to be identified, ‘WH’ is thought to refer to William House, who was in Grendey's employ from 14 April 1747, thus suggesting that this model of chair was popular from at least the mid-1740s (G. Beard and C. Gilbert, eds., The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, 1660-1840, Leeds, 1986, pp. 371-372). The same 'WF' stamp appears on an impressive set of dining-chairs almost certainly supplied to John, 1st Earl Poulett for Hinton House, Somerset (E. Lennox-Boyd, ed., Masterpieces of English Furniture: The Gerstenfeld Collection, London, 1998, p. 110, fig. 85 and p. 208, no. 34). Furthermore, an armchair from a suite of seat-furniture from Gunton Park, Norfolk, is applied with Grendey’s shorter trade label (C. Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, Leeds, 1996, p. 243, fig. 437). Other similar chairs were in the celebrated collection of Percival D. Griffiths at Sandridgebury, Hertfordshire (R.W. Symonds, English Furniture from Charles II to George II, London, 1929, p. 155, figs. 101-102; fig. 102 sold as part of the Griffiths sale, Christie's, London, 11 May 1939, lot 285, and again 7 April 1983, lot 155). The closest model, with acanthus-carved supports and claw-and-ball feet, to be offered recently at auction sold Sotheby’s, New York, 30 October 2002, lot 105 ($89,625 inc. premium).