A set of eight George III mahogany dining chairs circa 1780

comprising two armchairs and six side chairs, each armchair with an arched cresting rail centered by a bunch of wheat stalks flanked by pendant husks above a pierced waisted sheaf splat and flanked by serpentine armrests on cabriole supports centering a drop-in seat and raised on molded square legs joined by stretchers.  The armchairs stamped I and II respectively to the back seat rail, each side chair stamped with Roman numerals I, II, III, IIII, V and VI respectively to the back seat rail.

Good quality, nice figuring to timbers, overall fair restored condition; usual old marks, scratches, scuffs, nicks and bruises especially to the legs and stretchers; wear and rubbing to feet. Drop-in seats each stamped with Roman numerals corresponding to the seat and appear to have age. Armchair 'I' with old repaired extensive breaks to the cresting rail, the right side with a replaced section to the right stile at join with the armrest and continuing to join with cresting rail and with inpainting and plugs; top of shoe with repaired cracks with some inpainting; old repaired break to right armrest at join with stile; old repaired break to top of left stile at join with cresting rail and with plug and long patch to back side; top of right armrest support with a replaced section and with a plug; back right leg spliced; back corner blocks replaced. Armchair 'II' with old repaired break to top of right stile at join with cresting rail and now with two long patches to the back side; old repaired break to top of right stile with a long patch to the back edge, each break with staining and inpainting; small age crack to top of splat and two small age cracks to base of splat; the front left leg with a plug to each side at join with rails; the front right leg with a plug to the front at join with rail; each leg with hairline age cracks to the tops; back right leg spliced at foot; later corner blocks. Side chair 'I' with old repaired breaks to cresting rail and stiles at joins, each side with long patches to the back sides over the join to stabilize and with visible break lines to the fronts with some inpainting; shoe with old repaired breaks at join with splat; right side stretcher slightly loose at join with front right leg; infilled plug to back right leg at join with back stretcher; corner blocks later. Side chair 'II' with repaired breaks to the tops of each stile at join with cresting rail; the cresting rail with patches to back edges above join with stiles and each side with an infilled plug and with staining and inpainting; the center of the cresting rail at the back edge with infilled losses possibly where knot had been; small age crack tot op of splat and to bottom of splat; old repaired breaks to shoe at join with splat; the front left leg with a plug to front and left side at join with the seat rail; front right leg with a plug to the front at join with seat rail; front left leg replaced, although appearing to have age and with a rectangular patch to the inside edge to top beneath the rail and to bottom beneath the stretcher and with plugs at joins with stretchers; later corner blocks; chop to foot of front right leg. Chair 'III' with small loss to back edge of cresting rail next to tenon of right side; two cracks to bottom of splat and with a patch to the back side at base of splat at the crack; front right leg with a small chip beneath join with right side seat rail and with some old glue at that join and with a chip to the bottom edge of the side rail at that join; back right foot with a repaired chip; stretchers slightly loose; later corner blocks. Chair 'IIII' with old repaired breaks at joins of stiles and cresting rail and now each with a long tie patch over the join to the back edge with plugs to the underside and with inpainting and staining; small chip to front of cresting rail to right side; two small age cracks to top of splat; corner blocks probably later. Chair 'V' with old repaired breaks to tops of stiles at join with the cresting rail and now with long patches over the joins and with some inpainting; right stile with a loss to top of stile at join with cresting; the splat shifted slightly to the right and with inpainted age cracks to top; the shoe with old repaired breaks around the base of the splat; front legs each with a plug to the side at join with the seat rails; front corner blocks replaced; top of left side seat rail with infilled chips. Chair 'VI' with old repaired breaks to the tops of the stiles at joins with the cresting rail with some inpainting and now with a glossy finish; the shoe with old repaired breaks around the splat.
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.

The backrest to the present set of chairs is almost identical to the backrest of a chair at Arundel Castle, Sussex, illustrated in Ralph Edwards and Percy Macquoid, The Dictionary of English Furniture, London: Country Life Limited, 1954, vol. I, p. 293, fig. 213.  The chair at Arundel Castle is centered by an oval patera to the cresting rail as opposed to a wheat sheaf, and appears to have more pendant husks to the cresting rail than those on the present chairs.

A main feature of the Arundel Castle chair and the present chairs is the use of a pair of pierced scrolls to the base of the splat, a design for which can be found in Thomas Malton's 'Complete Treatise on Perspective', 1775, plate XXXIV. Fig. 131.  Furthermore, the present chair has similarly shaped piercings as the Malton design.  See Elizabeth White, Pictorial Dictionary of British 18^th Century Furniture Design, The Printed Sources, Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club Ltd., p. 85.

Another design source for the backrest of the chairs is from the Gillows firm, found in the sketch books of 1779, and illustrated in Susan Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London, 1730-1840, Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club Ltd., vol. I, p. 153, plate. 101.  Stuart's research indicates that over four-hundred 'fan back' chairs were made between 1783-87, the vast majority of which had arched cresting rails, and 'were made in the common way, middle way, and the best manner.  For customers who could afford the best type the carving might include backs moulded and the balusters carved with wheat-ear and a ribbon'. (Stuart, op.cit. p. 153.)

It is interesting to note that Gillows firm is recorded as working at Arundel Castle.