A pair of cut-glass and silvered metal armchairs in the manner of Osler 20th century

[Trade Catalogue] F. & C. Osler, Calcutta, [Birmingham, circa 1876-1885], No. 2895B, for an almost identical armchair. 

John P. Smith, Osler's Crystal for Royalty and Rajahs, 1991, p.63 for similar examples in the Jai Vilas Palace, Gwalior, India.

Overall good condition, later upholstery, top of one front right leg with very large polished chip to molded collar; overall with small chips and losses to extremities in places.
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.

Established in Broad Street, Birmingham in 1807 by Thomas Osler, the firm later known as F. & C. Osler Ltd. came to dominate both the English and overseas market in chandeliers, glass light fittings and spectacular decorations. While initially specializing in drops and small prisms, after 1831 under the direction of Thomas’s son Follett, the company produced more ambitious glass designs. By 1845, keen to enter a world market, the business had expanded into Calcutta, where they displayed fine quality pieces specifically created for the wealthy rulers of India and the Near East. Osler’s reputation for magnificent and large pieces was such that by the Great Exhibition in 1851 they were secured a space at the center of the great Crystal Palace, where they exhibited their breathtaking and ambitious twenty-foot high crystal fountain.

Osler found great success in India and the Middle East where the coolness and striking appearance of colored or facet-cut glass furniture, small useful objects, chandeliers, candelabra, and fountains appealed to the affluent rulers there, making India the largest market outside of the U.K. The Osler archives, held at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, includes watercolor drawings of chairs, stools, bedsteads, settees, cribs and even a design for a glass staircase. Their trade catalogue 'F. & C. Osler, Calcutta', of circa 1876-1885, illustrates a very similar red velvet button-upholstered armchair for the Indian market (no. 2895B), described as "Richly Cut Crystal Glass... upholstered in the best crimson silk velvet", together with a conforming side chair (no. 01647A).

Osler supplied related cut-crystal glass chairs in 1877 for Maharana Sajjan Singh at the Fateh Prakash Palace, Udaipur, while others are found at the Jai Vilas Palace, Gwalior, illustrated Smith op. cit., p.63.