Lot Essay
This extraordinary armchair is almost identical to a design by William Pocock from March of 1813, which was published by Rudolph Ackerman in ‘The Repository of Arts’, one of the most important and influential books of the early nineteenth century.
The chair has survived in an extraordinary state of preservation retaining its original ‘Morocco’ leather upholstery. The execution of the chair exactly matches the original design by Pocock and it is highly likely to have been made by him and sold in his showroom at 20 Southampton Street, Covent Garden in 1813.
One can only speculate how this chair was in the collection of Count von Schonberg Glauchau at Hinterglauchau. Ackerman himself was born in Leipzig, only fifty miles from the castle. His ‘Repository for Arts’ had international appeal and it is possible the Count was made aware of this ‘patent’ chair through this publication.
The chair has survived in an extraordinary state of preservation retaining its original ‘Morocco’ leather upholstery. The execution of the chair exactly matches the original design by Pocock and it is highly likely to have been made by him and sold in his showroom at 20 Southampton Street, Covent Garden in 1813.
One can only speculate how this chair was in the collection of Count von Schonberg Glauchau at Hinterglauchau. Ackerman himself was born in Leipzig, only fifty miles from the castle. His ‘Repository for Arts’ had international appeal and it is possible the Count was made aware of this ‘patent’ chair through this publication.