AN IMPORTANT GEORGE II WALNUT AND WALNUT VENEERED TRIPLE-CHAIR BACK SOFA circa 1740

each 'chair' with a double-arched crest rail centered by a small stylized fan shaped shell issuing from a further stylized shell within cross-banded scrolls with carved bird head terminals above vase-shaped figured splats carved at the lower edges with foliate and fan-edged scrolls, the uprights similarly cross-banded and foliate-carved at the bases, the solid shaped flat arms with foliate-carved edges and with scrolled feathered bird-head terminals holding shepherd's-crook form supports within their beaks, the drop-in upholstered seat within a conforming triple-bowed veneered frame, supported on four cabriole legs at the front carved at the knees with foliate plumes continuing to scrolled foliate brackets and centered by a small stylized fan-shaped shell issuing a further stylized shell conforming to that on the crest rail, and supported on finely formed claw-and-ball feet, the down-swept turned back legs with pad toes; the seat rail with painted numbers 1099 and 109; formerly with casters; the underside of right seat rail with partial paper label inscribed...VERPOO...  Old restorations.

Edward I. Farmer, Inc., New York

The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred William Erickson, New York

Sold, Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, November 25 1961, lot 151, The Estate of the Late Anna E. Erickson, New York, Sold by Order of a Legatee

Overall very good restored condition; beautiful color and with an old patina; the cresting rail with some small repairs at joins with some stiles and with some small age cracks; the far left stile with repaired break at join with the left armrest; the right splat with old repaired crack; the reverse of the right splat appears to have a small replaced section at the base; the left and right armrest supports each with an old repaired break near join with the handhold; front left leg with old repaired break to top at the inside edge; the front legs with some minor age cracks; some brackets with some minor repairs and reinforcements; minor areas of old worm throughout; the apron with old patches and some small chips and losses to the veneers; later drop-in seat; the front feet originally hollowed out for casters and now infilled; the underside of the back legs with screw holes for casters; overall with old scratches, scuffs, and bruises consistent with age and use.
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.

Although the overall profile of the present sofa conforms to other surviving examples of the period, it is distinguished by the imaginative and well-executed carved ornament which includes the crisply carved and detailed stylized fans, shells and the bold foliate enrichment to the knees. Of note are the birds' heads carved in high relief on the vase-form splats and, in particular, those forming the terminals to the arms and the manner in which they hold the shepherd's-crook form supports in their beaks; the veneers are highly figured with considerable contrast between the dark and light hues, the solid timbers of the legs having old and richly patinated surfaces.

The present sofa was almost certainly conceived as part of a larger suite of drawing-room seat furniture which probably included side chairs and arm chairs, although none of these has been traced.  It is extremely difficult to assign to a particular maker to walnut furniture of this period, few pieces having survived with a recorded provenance which can still be associated with existing accounts or inventories. Giles Grendey (b. 1693-d. 1780) is one of the few makers of walnut seat furniture of this period whose house style can be easily recognized because of the number of his pieces which still retain their printed maker's labels although the majority of these have lost their provenance; unfortunately in the case of the present lot the maker must remain anonymous.

Tantalizingly, Lucy Wood has put forth the name of Henry Hill of Marlborough as the possible maker of similar furniture; see 'An Early Work by Henry Hill of Marborough?', The Furniture History Society Newsletter, November 2006, No. 164, pp. 1-4, figs. 1-3.  Hill had employed German immigrant makers and Wood describes elements of a set of four chairs and a settee in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum that are more characteristic of chair construction on the Continent than in England.  These elements include front corners with half-lap joints, half-lap joints at the side rails, pegged construction to the sides and backs of the stiles, ash or chestnut seat rails sawn at an angle to take the drop-in frame so that it fits snugly.  All of these characteristics are found on the present settee and the later drop-in seat frame has a gap at the front corners and the sides, suggesting that the original frame was cut to fit it tightly.  A nearly identical suite of six chairs and two settees from the estate of Miss J. M. Calley, Burderop Park, Wiltshire, was sold, Humbert, Flint, Rawlence & Squarey, May 20-22, 1974, lot 882.  Henry Hill had worked for the Calley family in the 1770s but the business relationship with William Calley had probably existed from the 1730s following his reubuilding of Burderop Park in 1734.

The sofa was first recorded in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. William Erickson of New York City, the former being the founder of the well-known advertising agency McCann Erickson, and was purchased from the dealer Edward I Farmer. The Erickson collection also included the portrait by Rembrandt of 'Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer' which was also sold at Parke-Bernet Galleries in 1961 for the then world record price of $2,300,000, and which is now in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

A related settee was sold, Christie's, London, May 21, 1987, lot 240.