Thomas Moore
Head of Department
Lot 131TP
A late George II carved mahogany double chair back settee circa 1755-60
21 November 2018, 13:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £4,375 inc. premium
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A late George II carved mahogany double chair back settee
circa 1755-60
The scroll, acanthus and rocaille carved shaped toprail with shell ears, above two vase shaped splats pierced with interlaced lozenges and frets, with scrolled arm supports, over a quatrefoil and geometric blind fretwork seat frame, on three conforming square section front legs terminating in guttae feet, with splayed rear legs, 118cm wide.
The scroll, acanthus and rocaille carved shaped toprail with shell ears, above two vase shaped splats pierced with interlaced lozenges and frets, with scrolled arm supports, over a quatrefoil and geometric blind fretwork seat frame, on three conforming square section front legs terminating in guttae feet, with splayed rear legs, 118cm wide.
Footnotes
The notably architectural element of guttae feet connects the offered lot to an armchair currently housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, W.17-1977, which has conforming feet. This comparable example originally formed part of a suite comprising over twenty-four armchairs and four settees supplied, circa 1760, by William Vile (1705-67) and John Cobb (-) for St. Giles's House in Dorset on behalf of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, the 4th Early of Shaftesbury (1711-71).
A set of eight related stools, also executed by Vile and Cobb, with virtually identical guttae feet were provided in 1753 by the Royal cabinet making partnership for The Vyne, Hampshire and are illustrated in A. Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, p. 27, fig. 28, 1968.
The bold overall design of the offered lot is reminiscent of various Thomas Chippendale drawings which feature across all three editions of his unsurpassed furniture publication, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 1753-62.
As with much of Chippendale's output during this period, the present settee represents a highly imaginative combination of the three most influential 'styles' then at the height of fashion in England; the 'French' or Rococo; the Chinese; and the 'Gothick'. The scroll, floral, shell and acanthus carved toprail, along with the sweeping scrolled arm supports, are all typical elements of the Rococo style founded in France. Whereas the pierced geometric splat and geometric blind fretwork are indicative of a 'Chinoiserie' influence while the blind quatrefoils to the legs, seat frame and stretchers are strong gothic features.
