A RARE SET OF TWELVE NEOCLASSICAL ARMCHAIRS IN THE ENGLISH TASTE RETAINING
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Description
A RARE SET OF TWELVE NEOCLASSICAL ARMCHAIRS IN THE ENGLISH TASTE RETAINING THEIR ORIGINAL PAINTED DECORATION
Portuguese. Circa 1790.
Measurements
Height: 38" (96.5cm)
Seat Height: 17 1/2" (44 1/2cm)
Width: 22 1/2" (57cm)
Depth: 18 1/2" (47cm)
Research
Of painted beech. Each with a rectangular pierced back of ladder form centered by a carved urn above a grisaille painted oval cameo and flanked by two similar cameos depicting classical figures, the cameos joined by floral swags, the back decorated with floral painted decoration, the arms raised on downswept supports, the cane seat above a frieze with painted foliate decoration, the whole raised on four square legs, the front pair tapering, the rear pair of saber form.
Provenance:
A Distinguished Portuguese Collection
This set of twelve neoclassical armchairs is an example of fashionable Anglophile taste in eighteenth century Portugal. Elements of the chairs’ design can be found in the work of Thomas Sheraton, as published in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book (1791-94), produced by subscription in fortnightly numbers between 1791 and 1793. The Cabinet Dictionary followed in 1803 and in that year Sheraton began work on the Encyclopaedia with the ambitious aim of producing 125 parts. Sheraton’s death in 1806 left the work partly incomplete.
“In the 1790’s chairs in ‘the new taste’ were of rectilinear form,”1 and Sheraton departed from the oval and shield-shaped chairs in favor of square backs. Their outline is straight and narrow, with chair backs left mostly open and arms set high with a concave curve. Parlor chairs, according to Sheraton, were to “avoid trifling ornaments and unnecessary decorations,” while Drawing Room chairs, on the other hand, were intended to be painted, gilt or japanned.”2 The fashion for painted furniture was at its prime in this period, with floral motifs commonly decorating the narrow rails, splats, and uprights a seen in figure 1, which depicts a Sheraton painted and decorated armchair illustrated in F. Lewis Hinckley’s Hepplewhite, Sheraton & Regency Furniture.3
Full research report available on request. -
More Information
Period: 18th Century Condition: Good. Styles / Movements: Traditional Dealer Reference #: 9052 Incollect Reference #: 753993 -
Dimensions
W. 22.44 in; H. 37.99 in; D. 7.28 in; W. 57 cm; H. 96.5 cm; D. 18.5 cm; Seat H. 6.89 in; Seat H. 17.5 cm;
Message from Seller:
Carlton Hobbs specializes in the acquisition, conservation, and research of 17th, 18th and 19th century British and Continental furniture and works of art, with a focus on pieces of exceptional merit, including specially commissioned items with royal or aristocratic provenance and pieces designed by architects.