Lot Essay
The detailing on the leg of this settee closely relates to a suite supplied by William Hallett to Viscount Irwin, delivered on 9 August 1735. Shortly after Lord Irwin's death the following year the suite was taken to the family home, Temple Newsam, where it remained there until the dispersal sale in 1922 and was purchased by Frank Partridge. Of notable similarity between the suite and this settee are the shell and bellflower carving, the distinctly spaced gadrooned spandrels and the unusual ring to the ankle above the claw-and-ball foot. The suite was illustrated, along with the original invoice, in C. Gilbert, 'Newly-Discovered Furniture by William Hallett', The Connoisseur, December 1964, pp. 224-225.
A settee again displaying a very similar form of leg was sold anonymously, Sotheby's London, 15 November 1996, lot 29.
The sofa formed part of the spectacular group of furnishings assembled by Asil Nadir for the offices of Polly Peck International, 42 Berkeley Square, London. Amongst the furniture was a highly important George I gilt-gesso chandelier from Holme Lacy, Herefordshire, and subsequently in the Hochschild Collection. Also in the collection was a George II mahogany breakfront bookcase, possibly by Linnell.
A settee again displaying a very similar form of leg was sold anonymously, Sotheby's London, 15 November 1996, lot 29.
The sofa formed part of the spectacular group of furnishings assembled by Asil Nadir for the offices of Polly Peck International, 42 Berkeley Square, London. Amongst the furniture was a highly important George I gilt-gesso chandelier from Holme Lacy, Herefordshire, and subsequently in the Hochschild Collection. Also in the collection was a George II mahogany breakfront bookcase, possibly by Linnell.