A VERY RARE PAIR OF QUEEN ANNE WALNUT SIDE CHAIRS, PHILADELPHIA AREA, PENNSYLVANIA, CIRCA 1735

marked III and V; appear to retain original slip seats.

"Antique Mart" of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, April 1972

Patches to proper right and left side of crest rail on chair III, proper left toe of chair V replaced.
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 rare pair of side chairs is exemplary in form.  The chair’s wide stiles and deeply curved splat and crest rail are traits that originate from chairs produced in Ireland in the 1730’s.  A very uncommon characteristic of this pair is the use of flat curved stretchers combined with a turned rear stretcher.  Typically, Philadelphia area chairs lack turned stretchers.  A set of figured maple chairs that descended in the Scattergood family attributed to the cabinetmaker William Savery have very similar stretchers.¹  An upholstered back stool that purportedly belong to James Logan in the collection of Winterthur Museum has front legs with a nearly identical profile and its rear legs are undercut in the same manner. ²

1 Two chairs from the set are illustrated in Thomas Smith Hopkins and Walter Scott Cox, Colonial Furniture of West New Jersey, (Haddonfield, NJ: The Historical Society of Haddonfield, 1936), pp. 70-1, pl. 33 and another example was sold at Sotheby’s, New York, The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Lammot Du Pont Copeland, January 19, 2002, sale 7757, lot 259.  Another related walnut pair was sold Sotheby’s, New York, Important Americana: Furniture and Folk Art, January 19, 1997, sale 6957 lot 951.

2 Joseph Downs, American Furniture: Queen Anne and Chippendale, (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1952), no. 97.