An English elm boarded stool 17th century

with a moulded and gouge carved seat, the apron with pronounced scroll, the boarded ends with shaped buttresses

The Moller Collection, Thorncombe Park, Surrey;
An Important Private Collection of 16th, 17th and 18th Century Furniture Formed Under Guidance of R. W. Symonds, these rooms, 28th May 1982, lot 9.

Illustrated R. W. Symonds, Furniture Making In Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century England, London, 1955, p. 63, fig. 96 and 98.

and

Tobias Jellinek, Early British Chairs and Seats from 1500 to 1700, Woodbridge, Forthcoming (2009), pl. 236.

Attractive colour and of firm stance. Worm throughout. Top with old fragmenting, partial split, some warping and some old filler. Partial splits and fragmenting in the boarded sides with some losses to lower edge details. Slight bowing to boarded end supports with fragmenting to base and a lot of fragmenting to inner surface of one of these end boards.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Victory Chinnery, Oak Furniture, The British Tradition, Woodbridge, 1979, p. 261, fig. 3:73a. Illustrates a similar boarded stool (after a drawing by Fred Roe) with the same classically shaped profile supports and suggests a date after 1600. The earlier boarded stools have supports that are more staggered and are more in the manner of buttresses.

Symonds writes on his notes on the stool (op. cit. p. 69) that it is probably from East Anglia.