ATTRIBUTED TO RICHARD ROBERTS, CIRCA 1720, IN THE MANNER OF DANIEL MAROT

This pair of walnut chairs is the same model as a set of ten (originally eighteen) in the Private Dining Room at Hampton Court Palace [RCIN 1071], thought to have been supplied to George I by Richard Roberts (d. 1733). They are assumed to be those referred to in the accounts as 'Richard Roberts, Joyner’ [to the GreatWardrobe] from the period Michaelmas 1717-Michaelmas 1718: ‘For 18 Chairsmade of the best Walnuttree bended backs finely carved and pollisht and silk laceSeats for his maties [=Majesty’s] Dining Room ... £36.0.0'. Whilst Roberts supplied numerous chairs during this period these are distinctive in that they are the only examples that have 'bended backs', carving and upholstered seats. The examples at Hampton Court have been altered, probably in the mid-18th century to have a padded seat but are thought to have originally had drop-in seat frames like the present pair. A pair, also with drop-in seats, were sold from Myers Castle, Fife, Christie's, South Kensington, 24 November 1999, lot 93. A related set of six chairs with padded seats were with Pelham Gallery, June 1990. A further example is in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum [W.28-1909].

Richard Roberts took over from his father the court chair-maker Thomas Roberts (d.1714) and traded at 'The Royal Chair' in Marylebone Street, Westminster. Other notable commissions include a suite of twenty-three chairs and two sofas for Sir Robert Walpole, later 1st Earl of Orford (d. 1745) for Houghton Hall, Norfolk.