A George IV carved giltwood stool circa 1824, by Morel and Hughes

in George II style, with a padded damask upholstered seat, re-gilded

Almost certainly one of nine stools supplied by Morel & Hughes for the Picture Gallery or Ballroom at Northumberland House, Strand, London for the 3rd Duke of Northumberland, 1822-24.

Morel & Hughes bill to the 3rd Duke of Northumberland in June 1824 records: ` To unstuffing and repairing 14 large window stools, strengthening the frames, & making new scroll ends to suit the sofas, repairing the carving & gilding as before described at £15..18..

To stuffing the preceding 14 stools, and covering them with your Graces silk, enriched with gold colour silk gimps, cord, and tassels, in suit with sofas      at £8..4..

To nine new window stools, carved and gilt in mat and burnished gold, to correspond with preceding stuffed with the best materials, covered with your Graces silk, and finished with cord, gimps, & C, as before at £53..16.'

For comparison, a stool which also forms part of this set of nine additional stools is in the the collection of The Lady Lever Art Gallery and is illustrted and discussed in Lucy Wood, The Upholstered Furniture in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, 2008, 2 vols, vol II, pp.816-825. 

Good overall restored condition. Re-gilded and recently upholstered
"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."

The present stool was part of a comission to enlarge an existing suite of giltwood seat furniture originally supplied to the 1st Duke and Duchess of Northumberland for the newly created Picture Gallery or Ballroom of Northumberland House in the west wing running down to the river Thames between 1750 and 1757. The maker of the original suite is un recorded but could well have been Paul Saunders who was paid a total of £1607 in instalments by the Duke between 1750 and 159.  The 3rd Duke of Northumberland in 1822 engaged Morel & Hughes to overhaul the furnishings of Northumberland House which included the creation of nine new stools to match this existing suite of which the present lot is believed to be one.

The suite is recorded at Northumberland House in 1847. The stools were possibly sold on the demolition of the house in 1874 or retained at Alnwick Castle until after 1910. The Leverhulme example was acquired by Lever with two other matching stools from M. Harris & Sons, 13 June 1918, £145. The other two stools were sold after Lever`s death, Anderson Galleries, New York, 9-13th February 1926, lot 19, $750 to M. Goodman.