A SET OF FOUR CARVED GILTWOOD AND CANED CHAIRS PROBABLY ENGLISH, CIRCA 1730

These stately, grand chairs were probably produced in England for the Italian market and most likely come from the group of twelve, of which one is illustrated in Herbert Cescinsky, English Furniture of the Eighteenth Century, vol. 1, London: 1909, fig. 107, pg. 82. The set, at the time, was in the possession of Messrs. Gill & Reigate, a firm established in the 1890s and active until the 1930s.

The design for this model is inspired by the distinctive suite of side chairs formerly in the Palazzo Borghese in Rome. The Borghese suite was sold at auction along with much of the palace's contents in 1892.  Part of this eighteenth century group, possibly containing both gilt and japanned chairs, is now in the Lady Lever Art Gallery (illustrated Lucy Wood, The Upholstered Furniture in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, vol. 1, Liverpool: 2008, cat. 23) while another is with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Of similar form and with an identical strapwork design to the backsplat, the present set features shells rather than lion heads on the knees and a different cresting design from the Borghese chairs. The overall proportions, particularly of the seat rails and stretchers, are also somewhat heavier.

The Borghese chairs have been attributed to various origins and as Lucy Wood has adeptly explained, the nationality of the chairs is still debated. London, Rome, Florence, and Lucca have all been suggested as cities of origin. The chairs have been published as Roman in Goffredo Lizzani, Il Mobile Romano, Milano: 1970, p. 95, fig. 157, while in the Borghese sale of 1892 the chairs were even catalogued as Venetian. The origins of this unusual model may be contested, but it seems that the design captured the imagination of furniture historians and connoisseurs when they came onto the market, as by 1906 the twelve chairs now in the Lady Lever Art Gallery were in the possession of the English collector Clarence Wilson and are illustrated by a 1906 watercolor in Percy Macquoid, The Age of Mahogany, vol. II, Woodbridge, Suffolk: 1987, pl. II.

By the 1730s there was a well-established tradition of English cabinetmakers exporting furniture to the Continent, particularly to southern Europe. The best known example is the London maker Giles Grendey, whose most famous work is the celebrated suite of red lacquer furniture commissioned by the Duke of Infantado for Lazcano Palace in northern Spain. A group of japanned furniture probably by Grendey was also exported to the court of Naples in the 18^th century and is now in the Capodimonte Museum. Interestingly, a William Kent-style console table with cabriole legs ending in paw feet and headed by lion masks comparable to those on the Borghese chairs is in the Palazzo Reale, Naples, and is also likely to be of English manufacture, though its exaggerated proportions are atypical and suggest it was equally made for export. The present chairs, and possibly the Borghese suite, may very well have been commissioned by Italian patrons from English makers, which make them an exciting example of cross-cultural design. 

Overall in good restored condition. Stable and ready to place. Regilt; gilding is in very good condition with only some minor rubbing and losses. Caning is also later and later gilt. Seat cushions are later and in generally good condition. Each inscribed with an inventory mark to side rail: C445-12.
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.
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