A REGENCY CARVED GILTWOOD BENCH CIRCA 1820

with carved decoration to both sides, the scrolled upholstered ends carved with scaled dophins flanking a crenelated frieze with quatrefoils, supported by four winged claw and ball feet.

In good restored condition, some rubbing, wear, laking and minor losses to gilding throughout, legs possibly cut and re-attached.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Couches of this form were obviously designed as moveable pieces of seat furniture which could be placed almost anywhere in a room.  Contemporary illustrations include manuscript drawings by architects and pattern books showing them in various positions: a drawing by Sir John Soane of the Drawing-Room at Taymouth Castle dated 1808 depicts a pair of couches flanking a chimneypiece, their heads to the wall, the seats and projecting into the center of the room, whereas a plate illustrating a tent room in George Smith's Cabinet-Makers' and Upholsterer's Guide, 1826, shows a couch placed parallel to a book cabinet. Thomas Sheraton in his The Cabinet Dictionary, 1803, illustrates two couches which are described as a Grecian Couch, plates 49 and 50. Both of these are designed with one end higher than the other and with a small upholstered arm to one side which he considered as suitable to be used round a Grecian dining table as shown in plate 47.

 

Representations of dolphins, as seen on the present couch, were a common decorative device used throughout the eighteenth century and particularly during the Regency period. An attribute of Neptune and water personified, its relationship with Venus was also particularly suitable for seating furniture. A suite of furniture, commissioned by a Mr. Fish in memory of Lord Nelson and subsequently presented by his widow to Greenwich Hospital is perhaps the most elaborate illustration of this form of decoration. (See: Ralph Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, 1953, vol. II, p. 104, fig. 77)