A set of eight Anglo-Dutch walnut chairs, six circa 1720
the vase-form splats with marquetry panels depicting a potted carnation surrounded by tendrils, the drop-in seats covered with later chartreuse silk, the front rails centred by conforming marquetry panels, the cabriole legs terminating in pad feet in the form of stylised shoes, the chairs with scored Roman numerals to the seat rails, the armchairs modern
Condition Report:
A good-sized set of an unusual design. The modern armchairs are of slightly more generous proportions, but match the eighteenth-century examples closely in design and form. The colour of the wood is generally uniform across all examples, with old marks, scuffs, scratches and gentle fading due to age and use. The splats all with splits near the top rail along construction lines, with some examples showing signs of old restorations along this site. Losses and replacements to veneers. Later screws and some glue to the blocks of the undersides, and some examples with very light signs of old worm that appears to no longer be active.
Catalogue Note:
After the ascent of the Elector of Hanover to the English throne in 1714 as George I, the influence of European craftsmen again became apparent both in the design and construction of English furniture. Certain features of the construction of the present chairs indicate that they were likely made in England by an émigré furniture-maker; the subtly curved backs with moulded edges are definitely closer to the design of other English chairs of this period than those on the Continent. The marquetry decoration is unusual for English furniture of this period, since it was more common earlier in the century under the Dutch influence of William and Mary. The actual construction of the chairs can be considered typically English, although within the seatrails, the pegs have been left uncut in the Continental way – an English cabinet-maker normally cut them flush with the frame.
The most interesting feature of the design of the present chairs is the small boot or shoe that forms the foot of the front cabriole legs. This unusual feature rarely appears on English chairs or those of Continental origin, although another set of almost identical form, certainly by the same craftsmen, was in the collection of C. Assheton Smith and was recorded in Percy Macquoid's Age of Walnut.1 A tripod table in the V&A attributed to Frederick Hintz, another émigré working in England, also features ‘shoe’ feet, though these are of a more anthropomorphic design that is whimsically modelled on fashionable buckled shoes of the mid-eighteenth century (W.3-1965).
The chairs seem to have been part of a set of twenty-four, twelve of which were acquired by Lord Leverhulme at the sale of the contents of Oakley Hall, Eye, Suffolk on the 10th July 1919. The Leverhulme examples were then sold in the 2001 Thornton Manor sale by Sotheby's and also had Roman numerals to their the underside.
The 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), one of Victorian England’s most important collectors of fine and decorative art, started his life as William Lever, the son of a Lancashire grocer. After competently growing the family business, he became immensely successful with his company Sunlight Soap. With Victorian Britain becoming increasingly polluted, Leverhulme harnessed the increasing demand for cleaning products by being the first to efficiently mass-produce soap using vegetable oil. As well as putting his fortune towards philanthropy, he was a major art collector, and often used paintings in the advertising for Sunlight Soap.2 Many of the gems of his collection are still on display the Lady Lever Art Gallery today, while many others were sold at Sotheby’s in June 2001 – bidding at these auctions reached over £9m, setting the record for a house sale at the time.3
1 Percy Macquoid, The Age of Walnut, 1909, p.197, fig.181.
2 For examples, see Sam Bytheway, ‘The art of advertising’, liverpoolmuseums.org.uk. Available at: [accessed 22nd March 2024]
3 ‘Treasure sale breaks UK auction record’, BBC News, 28th June 2001. Available at: [accessed 22nd March 2024]
Provenance:
For the six period chairs only
Probably Matthias Kerrison at Hoxne Hall (afterwards Oakley Hall) Eye, Suffolk;
Thence by descent to Lady Bateman, at Oakley Hall (one standing in the Entrance Hall in 1908), possibly sold with the Estate of the late Lady Bateman, Christie's, 10th July. 1919.
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the vase-form splats with marquetry panels depicting a potted carnation surrounded by tendrils, the drop-in seats covered with later chartreuse silk, the front rails centred by conforming marquetry panels, the cabriole legs terminating in pad feet in the form of stylised shoes, the chairs with scored Roman numerals to the seat rails, the armchairs modern
Condition Report:
A good-sized set of an unusual design. The modern armchairs are of slightly more generous proportions, but match the eighteenth-century examples closely in design and form. The colour of the wood is generally uniform across all examples, with old marks, scuffs, scratches and gentle fading due to age and use. The splats all with splits near the top rail along construction lines, with some examples showing signs of old restorations along this site. Losses and replacements to veneers. Later screws and some glue to the blocks of the undersides, and some examples with very light signs of old worm that appears to no longer be active.
Catalogue Note:
After the ascent of the Elector of Hanover to the English throne in 1714 as George I, the influence of European craftsmen again became apparent both in the design and construction of English furniture. Certain features of the construction of the present chairs indicate that they were likely made in England by an émigré furniture-maker; the subtly curved backs with moulded edges are definitely closer to the design of other English chairs of this period than those on the Continent. The marquetry decoration is unusual for English furniture of this period, since it was more common earlier in the century under the Dutch influence of William and Mary. The actual construction of the chairs can be considered typically English, although within the seatrails, the pegs have been left uncut in the Continental way – an English cabinet-maker normally cut them flush with the frame.
The most interesting feature of the design of the present chairs is the small boot or shoe that forms the foot of the front cabriole legs. This unusual feature rarely appears on English chairs or those of Continental origin, although another set of almost identical form, certainly by the same craftsmen, was in the collection of C. Assheton Smith and was recorded in Percy Macquoid's Age of Walnut.1 A tripod table in the V&A attributed to Frederick Hintz, another émigré working in England, also features ‘shoe’ feet, though these are of a more anthropomorphic design that is whimsically modelled on fashionable buckled shoes of the mid-eighteenth century (W.3-1965).
The chairs seem to have been part of a set of twenty-four, twelve of which were acquired by Lord Leverhulme at the sale of the contents of Oakley Hall, Eye, Suffolk on the 10th July 1919. The Leverhulme examples were then sold in the 2001 Thornton Manor sale by Sotheby's and also had Roman numerals to their the underside.
The 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), one of Victorian England’s most important collectors of fine and decorative art, started his life as William Lever, the son of a Lancashire grocer. After competently growing the family business, he became immensely successful with his company Sunlight Soap. With Victorian Britain becoming increasingly polluted, Leverhulme harnessed the increasing demand for cleaning products by being the first to efficiently mass-produce soap using vegetable oil. As well as putting his fortune towards philanthropy, he was a major art collector, and often used paintings in the advertising for Sunlight Soap.2 Many of the gems of his collection are still on display the Lady Lever Art Gallery today, while many others were sold at Sotheby’s in June 2001 – bidding at these auctions reached over £9m, setting the record for a house sale at the time.3
1 Percy Macquoid, The Age of Walnut, 1909, p.197, fig.181.
2 For examples, see Sam Bytheway, ‘The art of advertising’, liverpoolmuseums.org.uk. Available at: [accessed 22nd March 2024]
3 ‘Treasure sale breaks UK auction record’, BBC News, 28th June 2001. Available at: [accessed 22nd March 2024]
Provenance:
For the six period chairs only
Probably Matthias Kerrison at Hoxne Hall (afterwards Oakley Hall) Eye, Suffolk;
Thence by descent to Lady Bateman, at Oakley Hall (one standing in the Entrance Hall in 1908), possibly sold with the Estate of the late Lady Bateman, Christie's, 10th July. 1919.
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
