A PAIR OF SCOTTISH GEORGE III WALNUT LIBRARY ARMCHAIRS
A PAIR OF SCOTTISH GEORGE III WALNUT LIBRARY ARMCHAIRS
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A PAIR OF SCOTTISH GEORGE III WALNUT LIBRARY ARMCHAIRS

CIRCA 1765

Details
A PAIR OF SCOTTISH GEORGE III WALNUT LIBRARY ARMCHAIRS
CIRCA 1765
Each upholstered in associated floral tapestry, the rectangular padded back, arms and seat with curved blind-fret supports, on conforming square legs joined by a pierced H stretcher, the central stretchers later, with ash rails
42 in. (107 cm.) high; 28 in. (71 cm.) wide; 28 in. (71 cm.) deep

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Carys Bingham
Carys Bingham

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Lot Essay

The 'French' armchairs are fretted in the Gothic fashion promoted in Thomas Chippendale's The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 1762, pl. XIX. They are unusual in being executed in walnut rather than mahogany which was almost ubiquitous at the time and strongly implies that they are not the work of a London maker. The use of ash secondary timber further suggests a north-country or Scottish origin. Interestingly Chippendale's patterns formed the basis for the work of Alexander Peter, the Edinburgh cabinet and chair-maker who worked extensively at Dumfries House alongside Thomas Chippendale.

A suite of seat furniture with pierced stretchers was almost certainly commissioned by Thomas Stapleton for Carlton Hall, later Carlton Towers, York, probably soon after 1750. A set of eight closely related armchairs with the same pattern of blind and pierced fretwork, formerly at Moor Park, Hertfordshire, were sold anonymously Christie's, London, 8 December 1955, lot 14 and a pair was later in the New York collection of Mr. & Mrs. J. E. Treleaven. A pair of mahogany armchairs almost identical to the lot offered here was sold anonymously Sotheby's, London, 19 November 1993, lot 75 (£10,925 including premium).

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