Furniture, Clocks & Works of Art

Furniture, Clocks & Works of Art

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 4. An Indo-Dutch carved ebony armchair, probably Coromandel Coast, circa 1660-80  .

An Indo-Dutch carved ebony armchair, probably Coromandel Coast, circa 1660-80

Auction Closed

November 9, 01:23 PM GMT

Estimate

10,000 - 15,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

An Indo-Dutch carved ebony armchair

probably Coromandel Coast, circa 1660-80


the pierced top-rail carved with nude female figures (apsara) and mythic sea beasts (makara) centred by a winged female head, the uprights with birds, their eyes inset with ivory, the backs of twisted spindles spaced by turned finials, the panelled fields of the frame carved with low relief foliate decoration, with later caned drop-in seat of ebonised beech, on a spirally turned legs

This lot should have no VAT symbol. The item will be sold under the auctioneer’s margin scheme and VAT will not be charged on the hammer price. // This lot contains ivory and other restricted materials. Sotheby's recommends that buyers check with their own government regarding any importation requirements prior to placing a bid. For example, US regulations restrictor prohibits the import of certain items (including ivory) to protect wildlife conservation. Please note that Sotheby's will not assist buyers with CITES licence applications where a buyer elects to either collect or arrange their own shipping, nor will Sotheby's assist with the international movement of ivory by air, either as freight or through hand carry. Sotheby's shipping will only assist in shipping the lot to either domestic UK or EU destinations, where delivery is made by road transport. Please note that CITES licences are required for the export of any restricted species from the UK, including to EU countries. A buyer's inability to export or import these lots cannot justify a delay in payment or sale cancellation.

Probably acquired by Thomas, 1st Viscount Weymouth (1640-1714) for Longleat House, Wiltshire as part of a suite of ebony furniture including twelve armchairs;

thence by descent until sold Christie's London, Important English Furniture including The Property of the Marquess of Bath from Longleat, Wiltshire, 17 November 1988, lot 75;

With Rainer Zietz Ltd. London; 

Bonhams, The Contents of the St Lucian Property of Lord Glenconner, 28 Sep 2011, lot 2 where acquired by the present owner.

Part of the suite recorded in the Best Gallery (No. 56), 15 September 1740 described as 'An Ebony Table with Fine India carving, 2 Dozen of chairs ditto, 12 of the with Elbows Fine Cane Bottoms' (Longleat Archive, NMR, E3AA).


RELATED LITERATURE

Jan Veenendaal, Furniture from Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India, Delft, 1985, pp. 47-69;

Clive Wainwright, 'Only the True Black Blood', Furniture History, Vol. XXI, 1985, pp. 252-253;

The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, Vol. 21, 1993, p. 143;

Amin Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon, V&A Publications, 2001, p. 137, fig. 64.