A HIGHLY IMPORTANT PAIR OF GEORGE II GILTWOOD ALCOVE STOOLS circa 1755

each with over-upholstered rectangular seat flanked by outscrolled ends, the seat rail centered by a foliate spray and carved with bundled flutes, C-scrolls and acanthus leaves on a diaperwork ground, the side rails centered by a flowerhead on a diaperwork ground above acanthus leaves and flanked by scrolls and acanthus leaves, raised on husk-carved cabriole legs flanked by bundled flutes, headed by C-scroll brackets and ending in paw feet.  Re-gilt, now with applied crewel-work upholstery.

Hugh, 1st Duke of Northumberland, Northumberland House

The Earls of Shrewsbury, Ingestre Hall

The Estate of J. Paul Getty, sold, Christie's, New York, February 2, 1978, lot 207

A pair of alcove stools from the same suite from the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the United States Department of State was sold in these rooms, January 26, 1985, lot 223, and again from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Saul Steinberg, May 26, 2000, lot 272 ($401,750).

Anderson Art Galleries, New York, February 3, 1926, The Collection of the Late Lord Leverhulme, lot 19, pair long stools - length 38 inches

P. Macquoid, 'English Furniture, Tapestry and Needlework, the Lady Lever Gallery Collections, Batsford, London, 1928, pl. 23, item 74, p. 39, one long stool, length 38 inches

Country Life Magazine, 'Furniture at Alnwick', April 27, 1929, p. 620, fig. 11, one long stool

H. Ceskinsky, English Furniture from Gothic to Sheraton, Bonanza, New York, 1959 (1929), p. 245, an alcove stool

Helen, Duchess of Northumberland, Alnwick Castle Furniture, 1930, privately printed, figs. 10 & 11, showing two long stools and one sofa

Country Life Magazine, October 31, 1957, Gordon Nares, 'Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire', part III, fig. 4, 'The Long Drawing Room on the First Floor', showing an alcove stool as in the present example

Christie's, New York, February 2, 1978, The property of the Estate of the late J. Paul Getty, including nine alcove stools, each 62 inches long, and four sofas 126 inches long, with the provenance of the Earl of Shrewsbury, Ingestre Hall Hugh Montgomery-Massingbred 

Christopher Simon Sykes, Great Houses of England and Wales, Laurence King Publishing, 1994, p. 19, the Red Drawing Room at Alnwick, showing one long stool and a sofa.

These stools were thought to have been made as part of a large suite for George, 14th Earl of Shrewsbury (s. 1743, d.s.p. 1787), possibly for Heythorp House, Oxfordshire. A number of pieces from the suite are illustrated in Country Life October 31, 1957, G. Nares, 'Ingestre Hall, part III', fig. 4, 'The Long Drawing Room on the First Floor'. Thirteen pieces from the suite including alcove stools and sofas were sold with the Ingestre provenance, the current seat of the Lords of Shrewsbury, at Christie's in New York from the Estate of J. Paul Getty in 1978. However, the existence of a sofa and two long stools from the suite now in the possession of the Duke of Northumberland at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, indicated a different provenance. Ms. Wood believes that the suite was commissioned by Hugh, 1st Duke of Northumberland (s.1750-1786), who, as Sir Hugh Smithson of Stanwick Park, had married Elizabeth, daughter of Algernon, 7th Duke of Somerset who had been created Earl of Northumberland with a remainder to his son-in-law. Accordingly, on his death in 1750, Sir Hugh became Earl of Northumberland, taking the name of Percy. A wealthy man in his own right being heir to a fortune founded on haberdashery, his wife was also immensely rich having inherited the Percy estates from her brother in 1744. The couple immediately devoted much of their energies to improving their estates, Walpole writing in 1752 that 'They are building at Northumberland House, at Sion, at Stanwick, at Alnwick and Warkworth Castles'. Northumberland House had long been neglected until the 7th Duke of Somerset embarked on a series of improvements, employing Daniel Garrett (d. 1753) and James Paine (c.1717-89) as architects. On the Duke's death, Hugh and Elizabeth Percy continued with this task. Their first accomplishment was to complete the picture gallery, which also functioned as the ballroom. This magnificent room was some 160 feet long, 26 feet wide and two storeys high, the walls being hung with copies of great masterpieces. It was opened in 1757, Walpole remarking somewhat waspishly that 'it is a sumptuous chamber, but might have been in better taste'. A party was held on November 6, 1761 at the time of the coronation of George III, one of the six hundred guests, Count Kielmansegge, noting in his diary 'The ceiling is decorated with gilt stucco, and divided into five parts, on which are painted Fame on the wing, a Diana, a triumphant chariot drawn by two horses, a Flora, and Victory with a laurel wreath... The opposite wall is divided into three parts by two valuable marble chimney-pieces, the corners being supported by figures of Phrygian prisoners... over them are life-size portraits of our host and hostess.. . Four large crystal chandeliers, each with twenty-five candles, light up the room even more brilliantly than is necessary...' It was in this room that the suite of seat furniture was placed, and it seems to have remained in the gallery until the demolition of Northumberland House in 1874, having survived the vast rebuilding of the South front facade and internal improvement carried out by Thomas Cundy (1765-1825) for the third Duke of Northumberland in the 1820s. Morel and Hughes were employed to refurnish many of the rooms at a cost of £34000, William Collins 'altering and enriching 4 large chandeliers for the gallery to bear 24 lights each including 16000 brilliant spangles etc. £720.0.0.' The authorship of this exceptional suite is at the moment unclear, although there are a number of large payments in the accounts at this period to the firm of Paul Saunders, which are not itemized. Saunders of Soho Square (b. 1722-d.1771) was apprenticed to Richard Bradshaw in 1738, being appointed 'Tapestry Maker to His Majesty' in 1757 and in 1761 receiving a second appointment as Yeoman Tapestry Taylor in the Great Wardrobe. His list of known patrons indicated his stature as one of the most important cabinet-makers at this period, and includes the Dukes of Norfolk, Sussex and Cumberland, the Earls of Scarborough and Leicester, and Viscount Irwin.