A pair of giltwood, bronze and lead armchairs, probably English, early 19th century

Sotheby's London, 18th December 1988, lot 280;

Mallett & Sons (Fine Arts), London;

Private collection, Beverly Hills, California;

Sotheby's New York , 11th October 1996, lot 419;

Sotheby's London, Important English Furniture, 13th June 2001, lot 103.

Mallett: 125th Anniversary 1865-1990, London, 1999, pp.36-37.

These highly unusual chairs feature decorative elements that are typical of Regency and Empire design from the early nineteenth century, but in an application that is highly idiosyncratic. Though another mahogany and gilt-lead example of these chairs was with Mallett’s in 2010, catalogued as “Scandinavian”,¹ the lack of other close comparisons means that the geographic origin of these chairs is down to interpretation.

Metal mounts have long featured on fine furniture both in veneered wood and giltwood – however, from the seventeenth century onwards, this was almost exclusively in gilt bronze (also known as “ormolu”), or in similar-looking brass in England. Lead is a highly unusual choice with little precedent: while there are extensive studies on the use of gilt bronze in furniture,² in-depth studies of other metals are rarer. Bronze is often incorporated into furniture, particularly in the Regency, but generally only for sculptural elements and not in flat, low-relief mounts as on the present chairs. Margaret Jourdain does note that “cast metal fittings, such as paw feet and handles, are illustrated in catalogues of metal working firms” during the Regency,³ and a table with lead mounts of this description sold at Christie’s London, 6^th April 2000, lot 82. Flat, tendril-like mounts and the sculptural lions of the present lot, though, are much rarer.

The choice of heavy lead for these chairs gives them considerable weight, which combines with their large proportions to give a greater sense of grandeur: while chairs in giltwood with lighter mounts can usually be moved around a room and would be considered meubles volants, these chairs are weightier and more static. In terms of symbolism, stationary chairs suggest a greater sense of power and social significance, most famously in the form of thrones.⁴

Despite this unusual choice of materials, the form and decoration of the chair clearly anchor it in the early nineteenth century. The front legs are reeded, the Regency response to the fluting usually seen in late-eighteenth-century Neoclassicism, while the broad, dramatic scrolls of the armrests recall the work of Nicholas Morel, who furnished several significant residences during the Regency including Windsor Castle. An armchair that features carved scrolls, elaborate mounts and hefty dimensions in a way that parallels the present lot is pictured in Frances Collard’s Regency Furniture, and she notes that “Morel and Seddon made similar pieces for George IV”.⁵ Ultimately, these models derive from the newly refreshed approach to Ancient Greek design advocated by early-nineteenth-century tastemakers like Charles Percier in France or Thomas Hope in England – plate LIX of Hope’s Household Furniture and Interior Decoration shows an armchair with reeded and sabre legs that is somewhat similar to the present lot.⁶ The lion armrest draws on one of the ‘heroic’ symbols used deliberately throughout the decorative arts by the image-conscious Napoleonic régime but ultimately dating back to Antiquity.

¹ Mallett, Exceptional Furniture & Works of Art, 2010, pp.100-101.

² See those by Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Pröschel, Daniel Alcouffe, Pierre Verlet and Helen Jacobsen.

³ Margaret Jourdain, Regency Furniture 1795-1830, rev. ed. Ralph Fastnedge, London, 1965 p.45.

⁴ When writing of medieval thrones in Aachen, Augsburg and other German cities, Edith Holm notes that “These massive, heavy seats made of marble or stone, made for a specific place, often still stand today in these original locations”. Edith Holm, Stühle von der Antike bis zur Moderne, Munich, 1978, p.13 (my translation from the German).

⁵ Frances Collard, Regency Furniture, Woodbridge, 1985, p.137.

⁶ Thomas Hope, Household Furniture and Interior Decoration; Classic Style Book of the Regency Period, New York, 1971, p.137.