A fine Regency part-ebonized and ebony-inlaid mahogany 'Klismos' armchair attributed to Morel and Hughes circa 1810

the curved cresting rail carved with ebonized flower heads above inlaid five-pointed stars above a square upholstered backrest flanked by downswept scrolled arms ending in rams-head terminals raised on square plinths applied with flowerheads flanking an upholstered seat raised on fluted sabre legs headed by floweheads and ending in brass capped casters.

Possibly made for the 13th Earl of Clanricarde (d. 1808), or his son the 1^st Marquess of Clanricarde (d. 1874)

By descent through the 2nd Marquess of Clanricarde (d. 1916) to the 6th Earl of Harewood, located at Chesterfield House, London

Possibly sold, Christie's, London by the order of the Princess Royal, the Earl of Harewood and the Trustees of the 6^th Earl of Harewood, K.G., K.G.V.O, D.S.O, June 28, 1951, lot 45

Overall good condition; mahogany with a later glossy surface and appears to have been French polished; slight separation at veneered join to center of cresting rail and with some inpainting; rubbing and wear to tops of rams' heads with some minor losses to ebonized surface; back right foot with chip to corner of molding and with some infilling and inpainting; castors probably replaced; overall with some old marks, scratches, and bruises.
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 present armchair in the French neoclassical manner was almost certainly executed by the firm of Morel and Hughes. The use of the ram's-head terminals relates especially to two similar suites of furniture: the first supplied to either the 13th Earl of Clanricarde (d. 1808), or to his son the 1^st Marquess of Clanricarde (d. 1874); and the second supplied to the 1^st Earl of Bradford for Weston Park between 1806-1807.

The present chair is identical to the chairs in the Clanricarde suite, which descended to the Earls of Harewood through the 2^nd Marquess of Clanicarde  and was eventually at Chesterfield House, London, illustrated in H. Avray Tipping, 'Chesterfield House, Mayfair', Country Life, Feb. 25^th 1922, p. 240 (also illustrated in John Cornforth, London Interiors, London: 2000, p. 107) and in Clifford Musgrave, Regency Furniture 1800-1830, London, 1961, fig. 41b.  The suite or part of it was sold at Christie's, London, by the order of the Princess Royal, the Earl of Harewood and the Trustees of the 6^th Earl of Harewood, K.G., K.G.V.O, D.S.O, June 28, 1951, lot 45 which states it as a pair, though the auctioneer's book amends it to a set of five.  Of this suite, a pair was sold Christie's, London, November 29, 1984, lot 58; a further pair sold July 6, 1989, lot 49.  Another single chair was sold at the Sotheby's house sale of Wilsford Manor, by the Executors of the Hon. Stephen Tennant, October 14-15, 1987, lot 146.

It is interesting to note that though the Harewoods inherited this suite of furniture, they themselves had been patrons of Morel and Hughes, who supplied a quantity of furniture for Harewood House in London around 1809 at the same time the Clanricarde suite was made.

The Bradford suite is recorded in the Weston Park bills submitted by Morel and Hughes to the 1^st Earl as '6 Elbow Chairs richly finished with carved ram's heads...' and '2 Bergeres richly carved & finished to suit the above in each respect...' The chairs cost £69 6 and each bergère cost £13 10 (£27 total); see Phillis Rogers, 'A Regency Interior: The Remodeling of Weston Park', The Journal of the Furniture History Society, 1987, pp. 14, 21, figs. 7 and 8.  Thomas Hope makes use of the ram's-head terminals in two drawings in his Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, 1807: the first, an armchair pl. XXII, on which a settee from Hope's house at Deepdene is based; see David Watkin and Philip Hewat-Jaboor, ed. Thomas Hope Regency Designer, New Haven, 2008, pp. 402-403, no. 81; the other, a bedstead, nos. 5 and 6; and plate XXIX, no. 3.  A similar pair of chairs was sold in these rooms, October 16, 2008, lot 165.

The firm of Morel and Hughes was established in 1805 by the partnership of two successful cabinet makers Nicholas Morel and Robert Hughes, and located at 13 Great Marlborough Street, London. Morel was probably of French extraction and had particularly strong ties to the group of Anglo-French craftsmen centered on the architect Henry Holland and the marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre. Under Holland's direction he worked on the decoration of Carlton House, official London residence of the Prince of Wales, also supplying furnishings for the Prince's hunting box at The Grange, Hampshire. Morel and Hughes continued to supply furniture for the Prince of Wales, later George IV, as well as for many other nobles such as The Dukes of Buccleuch, Northumberland, Bedford and the Earl of Mansfiled. The partnership of Morel and Hughes ended by 1827 at which point Morel went into partnership with George Seddon.