A SET OF TEN GEORGE III GILTWOOD ARMCHAIRS ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN LINNELL, CIRCA 1775
Details
Each padded oval back surmounted by a patera draped with husks, with padded and fluted arms, the seat rail centered by a further patera draped with husks, on tapering fluted legs, upholstered with bronze, blue and cream patterned velvet 391⁄2 in. (100.5 cm.) high; 25 in. (63.5 cm.) wide; 25 in. (63.5 cm.) deep
Provenance
Property of the Late Dr. Daniel McLean McDonald; Christie's, London, 5 December 1991, lot 245 (£41,800).
Lot Essay
The elegant design of these armchairs exemplifies the sophisticated neo-classical taste that emerged in English seat furniture during the 1770s. Their restrained ornament and finely modelled carving recall the work of leading London cabinet-makers such as Ince and Mayhew and John Linnell, both of whom employed naturalistic motifs including husk-draped flowerheads, lotus leaves and delicately carved floral ornament. The flowing outline of the arms and the graceful, tapering legs create a particularly successful composition, drawing the eye across a sequence of finely executed details, including the scrolling elbow supports, lotus-leaf collars and flowerhead terminals. Comparable features appear on a suite of seat furniture supplied by John Linnell to Inveraray Castle for the Duke of Argyll, circa 1775-78, illustrated H. Hayward and P Kirkham, William and John Linnell, 1980, p. 46, fig. 90. The design of the arms is especially close to that of a documented armchair supplied by Ince and Mayhew, possibly for Paulet St John Wrighte, circa 1780, and related examples from the firm's oeuvre. An identical leg also appears on a chair frame illustrated in H. Cescinsky, English Furniture of the Eighteenth Century, vol. III, p. 208, fig. 243.
Details
Each padded oval back surmounted by a patera draped with husks, with padded and fluted arms, the seat rail centered by a further patera draped with husks, on tapering fluted legs, upholstered with bronze, blue and cream patterned velvet 391⁄2 in. (100.5 cm.) high; 25 in. (63.5 cm.) wide; 25 in. (63.5 cm.) deep
Provenance
Property of the Late Dr. Daniel McLean McDonald; Christie's, London, 5 December 1991, lot 245 (£41,800).
Lot Essay
The elegant design of these armchairs exemplifies the sophisticated neo-classical taste that emerged in English seat furniture during the 1770s. Their restrained ornament and finely modelled carving recall the work of leading London cabinet-makers such as Ince and Mayhew and John Linnell, both of whom employed naturalistic motifs including husk-draped flowerheads, lotus leaves and delicately carved floral ornament. The flowing outline of the arms and the graceful, tapering legs create a particularly successful composition, drawing the eye across a sequence of finely executed details, including the scrolling elbow supports, lotus-leaf collars and flowerhead terminals. Comparable features appear on a suite of seat furniture supplied by John Linnell to Inveraray Castle for the Duke of Argyll, circa 1775-78, illustrated H. Hayward and P Kirkham, William and John Linnell, 1980, p. 46, fig. 90. The design of the arms is especially close to that of a documented armchair supplied by Ince and Mayhew, possibly for Paulet St John Wrighte, circa 1780, and related examples from the firm's oeuvre. An identical leg also appears on a chair frame illustrated in H. Cescinsky, English Furniture of the Eighteenth Century, vol. III, p. 208, fig. 243.
