A George III giltwood settee circa 1775

the back seat rail inscribed in ink 217 Hornby.

 

The Collection of Hugh Grant and Lucie Mackey Grant

Overall good condition, gilding refreshed, sturdy, beautifully carved and lovely proportions.
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.

This settee with its sophisticated French neoclassical ornament is similar to designs by the architect James Wyatt and the work of Mayhew and Ince as well as François Hervé.

The overall profile and carving is nearly identical to a suite of eight armchairs (probably originally twelve armchairs) which Mayhew and Ince supplied to James Alexander, 1st Earl of Caledon, for the Oval Drawing Room at Caledon House, Ireland (illustrated, Hugh Roberts, " 'Unequll'd Elegance': Mayhew and Ince's Furniture for James Alexander, 1st Earl of Caledon", Furniture History, vol. XLV, 2009, p. 105, fig. 2) The Caledon chairs like the present settee have a similar shaped back centered by a stylized shell, the serpentine apron is centered by an identical draped patera and the legs are nearly identical as well.  It is interesting to note that the Caledon chairs may have originally been painted.  An armchair with similar square back to this sofa sold at Sotheby’s, New York, October 26, 2012, lot 292 ($18,750).

The carving of the seat rail and legs of the present settee is identical to that of a pair of window seats inscribed 5715 Horby which sold at Christie’s, New York, April 8, 2004, lot 275.  The seat rails and legs are almost identical to a pair of chairs sold by the late Mrs. Robert Tritton, Godmersham Park, Kent, Christie’s house sale June 6, 1983, lot 125.  Another chair with identical seat rails and legs sold at Christie’s, London, March 4, 2004, lot 150.  It is interesting to note that the overall profile of this chair is very similar to designs for chairs by James Wyatt, circa 1780, and illustrated in Jon Cornforth and John Fowler, English Decoration in the 18^th Century, London, 1974, p. 29, fig. 13.

The partnership of John Mayhew and William Ince is described in Gilbert and Beard,The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, 1986, pp. 589-598, as 'one of the most significant, probably the longest lived but, as far as identified furniture is concerned, the least well documented of any of the major London cabinetmakers of the 18^th century.'  Following the celebrated success of Thomas Chippendale's The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director (first pub. 1754) the firm published their Universal System of Household Furniture in 1762, although it had been serialized between July 1759 and August 1760. In the absence of much documented furniture, this publication has engendered academic interest in the firm's activities. Yet despite the richly rococo, and half-Gothic, half-Chinese motifs that pervade The Universal System, the firm's known work has a neo-classical flavor, the firm being recorded as working with the architect Robert Adam on several notable commissions, including Coventry House, Piccadilly and, Croome Court for the 6th Earl of Coventry, Shelburne House, Audley End, Derby House and Sherborne Castle.

Hervé is known to have worked for a number of fashionable patrons, including the Prince of Wales, Earl Spencer and the Duke of Devonshire, as Beard and Gilbert remark, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, Leeds, 1986, pp. 423-424, this style is now best represented by the documented pieces at Chatsworth where it can be seen as a light, elegant and adroit mixture of English and French detail', a statement that can be clearly related to the present settee; see Burlington Magazine, June 1980, `A Neoclassical episode at Chatsworth', Ivan Hall, pp. 400-414.  He is also known to have worked in conjunction with several leading architects including Henry Holland, John Carr and James Wyatt at Heveningham Hall.  A number of pieces survive with this latter provenance and are conceived in a similar fashion with delicately carved gilded detail.  A settee attributed to Hervé which sold at Sotheby’s New York, October 16, 2008, lot 191, has a stylized shell to the apron which is nearly identical to that of the cresting rail of the present settee and is identical to the aprons of a pair of chairs after a design by Wyatt, sold at Sotheby’s, New York, April 5-6, 2006, lot 410.

It is unclear whether Hornby refers to Horby Castle to the maker’s name or to the patron’s name.