A very fine and rare pair of Queen Anne walnut compass-seat side chairs, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania circa 1745

The chair marked II and IV. Slip seats frames marked III and V.  Chairs retain a dark historic surface.

Mr. and Mrs. Allan B. A. Bradley

Loan Exhibition of Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century Furniture and Glass ... for the Benefit of the National Council of Girl Scouts, New York, 1929

American Art Galleries, Loan Exhibition of Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century Furniture and Glass ... for the Benefit of the National Council of Girl Scouts, New York, 1929, no. 556

Chair II and IV; slip seats III and V.
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.

These side chairs are perhaps unique for their English-style stretchers, which are extremely uncommon in Philadelphia seating furniture. They are particularly fine examples of fiddleback-splat Queen Anne chairs, which are so named since their lower splat silhouette resembles that of a violin. This pair exhibits a graceful design and high quality construction, particularly in the use of the same board for the seat rails and the applied rims.

These chairs were once owned by Mr. and Mrs. Allan B. A. Bradley and were loaned to the Girl Scout Loan Exhibition held at American Art Galleries in 1929 (see American Art Galleries, Loan Exhibition of Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century Furniture and Glass ... for the Benefit of the National Council of Girl Scouts, New York, 1929, no. 556). Two very similar armchairs with rosettes at each side of the yoke are in the collection of the Henry Ford Museum. Numerous other variants of the pattern with lambs tongue carved knees and no stretchers include a set from the Shoemaker family of Philadelphia and two chairs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (see Joseph Downs, American Furniture, Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods, New York, 1952, no. 112 and Morrison Heckscher, American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1985, no. 36, p. 79-81).