Monte Alverno - An Irish Private Collection
Monte Alverno - An Irish Private Collection
An Irish George II carved mahogany open armchair, mid-18th century
Auction Closed
May 26, 03:18 PM GMT
Estimate
15,000 - 25,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
An Irish George II carved mahogany open armchair, mid-18th century
the oak back and seat rails with mahogany veneers, with a shell cresting and acanthus vase-shaped splat with outswept arms, drop-in seat and shell-capped cabriole legs with paw-feet, with a Parker Knoll accession number '89/3830' and applied ivorine label reading 'pattern'
Their collection until sold;
Christie's London, Fine English Furniture, 24 September 1998, lot 265 (£25,300 with premium)
This chair once formed part of the Parker Knoll collection and is an exemplar of Irish chair design displaying a number of instantly recognisable characteristics including low-relief carving, shell cresting and squared lion paw feet. The deep, dark patina to the mahogany frame is also a distinctly Irish surface.
Parker Knoll was the name borne after 1931 by the furniture company founded by Frederick Parker in 1869. The firm enjoyed a strong reputation for many years, built on their high standards of construction and design. This lot was part of the collection that Frederick Parker accumulated as an educational tool for the craftsmen he employed and which is denoted by the 'pattern' label to the seat rail. In
gathering over 300 examples of chair design throughout the centuries, he created the ultimate in-house resource from which they could copy designs, understand construction techniques and draw inspiration. While around half of the collection was sold in 1997, over the other half is now owned by the Furniture Makers' Company, and is on long-term loan to the London Metropolitan Museum.