A Late George II Walnut Side Chair together with a Mahogany Side Chair of the same model, attributed to Paul Saunders, Circa 1755-60

The Walnut Chair:

Possibly part of a suite supplied to James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale (1736-1802), for Lowther Castle, Westmoreland or Lowther Lodge, London (photographed in situ in Lowther Lodge, 1902) and thence by descent to Hon. William Lowther

Possibly Christie's London, 16 May 1912, lot 127 (a set of four), acquired by Mallett & Son (Antiques) Ltd., London

Clinton Howell, New York

The Mahogany Chair

Michael Lipitch, London

A chair of identical model to walnut chair offered here, with a gently curved carved moulding at the join of the splat with the shoe, was formerly in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (illustrated in F. Lewis Hinckley, Metropolitan Furniture of the Georgian Years, New York 1988, p.95 ill.122), acquired in 1913 from the London dealers Mallett & Sons, who had purchased it as part of a set of four sold at Christie's a year prior that had been supplied to the Earls of Lonsdale, either for their London residence or their seat Lowther Castle in Cumbria. The present chair could well have formed part of this suite, as few examples in walnut are known.

The other chair in this lot has the slight design variation of a straight gadrooned moulding on the shoe, and is of identical model to a group of chairs in parcel gilt mahogany supplied by the London furniture maker Paul Saunders to Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (1697-1759) for Holkham Hall, Norfolk, part of a larger prestigious commission of seat furniture sent in 1757 (illustrated in Anthony Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London 1968, pl. 379). These chairs remain at Holkham and are divided between the Dining Room and the Library. The beautifully drawn sinuous lines of the back and legs and rich acanthus carving epitomise the new fashion for rococo inspired side chairs with curved legs and pierced backs, seen for example in designs for chairs and 'French Chairs' in plates XII-XV of Thomas Chippendales 1765 Gentleman and Cabinetmaker's Director.

Paul Saunders (1722–1771) was one of the leading furniture makers in London during the 1750s and 60s, based at Carlisle House on the east side of Soho Square, where he was in partnership with George Smith Bradshaw until 1756. A tapestry weaver by training, in 1759 he was appointed ‘yeoman arras-worker to the Great Wardrobe’ in 1759 and 'yeoman tapestry taylor' in 1761, both positions he held until his death. His important clients included several aristocratic collectors including the Dukes of Cumberland, Norfolk, and Northumberland, the Earl of Scarborough and Viscount Irwin.