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Lot Essay
This elegant pair of drawing-room chairs, serpentined in the natural fashion lauded in William Hogarth's Analysis of Beauty, 1753, are almost identical to those supplied by Thomas Chippendale to William Crichton-Dalrymple, 5th Earl of Dumfries (d. 1768) for Dumfries House, Ayrshire. The Dumfries chairs formed part of a suite comprising two settees, fourteen armchairs and two card-tables, all supplied by Chippendale. The chairs, originally covered in blue damask, were invoiced by Chippendale and Rannie on 5 May 1759 as: '14 Mahogany Elbow chairs wt stuffd Backs & Seats cover'd & brass nailed the Elbows & fronts of the seats richly carv'd & scrol feet & castors 90 - ... £63.
14 Check cases to ye Chairs 10. £7' (see Dumfries House catalogue, Christie's, London, 12 July 2007, lots 28, 29, 50, 51, 52).
THE DESIGN
The model typifies the style of French chair that Thomas Chippendale and his Edinburgh-based partner James Rannie (d. 1766) adopted as a trade-sign for their celebrated St. Martin's Lane cabinet-making and upholstery business in the early 1750s. Chippendale, who also introduced the 'French Easy Chair' as a heading for their trade-sheet, devoted four plates to this type of chair pattern in The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 1754. Described there as 'French Elbow Chairs', they all featured Chinese or India patterned upholstery, which was noted as being in imitation of tapestry or needlework (C. Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, London, 1978, vol. II, fig. 13 and Chippendale's Director, pls. 17-20).
The basic chair pattern, with its truss-scrolled and voluted legs enriched with Roman acanthus and reed-banded flutes, appears to have been amongst the drawings prepared for engraving but not included in Chippendale's first Director. The drawing, illustrated for the first time in the Dumfries House sale catalogue (Christie's, London, 12 July 2007, lot 28), is included among some of Chippendale's Director drawings preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Besides the Director, Chippendale's fame has rested on his legendary chair-making. Never repeating a design, he was continually adapting and refining patterns to reflect taste and a client's whim. Although most sets are painted or gilt, some were executed in mahogany (such as the present pair) including four supplied to Sir Rowland Winn for Nostell Priory, Yorkshire and invoiced on 4 July 1767 as '4 Mahogany carvd Library antique elbow chairs stuffd and coverd with black leather £26'. Another set, also for Nostell, was recorded on 15 October 1767 as '10 Mahogany french arm Chairs stuffd and coverd with blue Morine & brass naild £32 10s'. The Earl of Shelburne commissioned a set of '14 Mahogany Chairs with Antique backs & term feet very richly Carvd with hollow seats stuffd and covered with Red Morocco Leather & double brass naild £51 9s', invoiced by Chippendale on 20 January 1769. Finally, a set was delivered to Sir Edward Knatchbull for Mersham-le-Hatch and invoiced on 6 May 1772 as '16 carvd mahogany Chair with Compass backs stuffd & coverd with fine blue morocco leather and finishd with double rows of Brass nails 55/- £44'.
Chippendale's tendency to adapt and refine patterns can be seen when comparing the present pair of chairs with the Dumfries chairs. Although the arms, serpentined apron and front legs appear to be identical, the back legs are straight in contrast to the cabriole back leg on the Dumfries chairs. This straight or 'raked' back leg can be seen on other chairs made by Chippendale, such as the Goldsborough Hall dining-chairs (sold anonymously, Christie's, London, 4 July 1996, lot 340) and the Brocket Hall dining-chairs (sold from the Henry Francis Du Pont collection, Christie's, New York, 14 October 1994, lot 125). The leg can also be seen on a set of armchairs at Nostell Priory with Chinese fretwork filled arms (Gilbert, op. cit., vol. II, figs. 142, 143, 147 and 168) and a design for a dining-chair in the first edition (1754) of the Director (pl. XII).
The construction of the present chairs, with a rough blocking behind the serpentined apron also appears on the Dumfries chairs.
A very closely related armchair of the same model and with the same back legs as the present lot, but with different carving at the top of the front legs, is illustrated in M. Harris & Sons, Centenary Book, Suffolk, 1968, p. 45. This is possibly one of the pair of chairs that was sold from the Estate of Audrey Sheldon, Christie's, New York, 28 March 1981, lot 212.
14 Check cases to ye Chairs 10. £7' (see Dumfries House catalogue, Christie's, London, 12 July 2007, lots 28, 29, 50, 51, 52).
THE DESIGN
The model typifies the style of French chair that Thomas Chippendale and his Edinburgh-based partner James Rannie (d. 1766) adopted as a trade-sign for their celebrated St. Martin's Lane cabinet-making and upholstery business in the early 1750s. Chippendale, who also introduced the 'French Easy Chair' as a heading for their trade-sheet, devoted four plates to this type of chair pattern in The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 1754. Described there as 'French Elbow Chairs', they all featured Chinese or India patterned upholstery, which was noted as being in imitation of tapestry or needlework (C. Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, London, 1978, vol. II, fig. 13 and Chippendale's Director, pls. 17-20).
The basic chair pattern, with its truss-scrolled and voluted legs enriched with Roman acanthus and reed-banded flutes, appears to have been amongst the drawings prepared for engraving but not included in Chippendale's first Director. The drawing, illustrated for the first time in the Dumfries House sale catalogue (Christie's, London, 12 July 2007, lot 28), is included among some of Chippendale's Director drawings preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Besides the Director, Chippendale's fame has rested on his legendary chair-making. Never repeating a design, he was continually adapting and refining patterns to reflect taste and a client's whim. Although most sets are painted or gilt, some were executed in mahogany (such as the present pair) including four supplied to Sir Rowland Winn for Nostell Priory, Yorkshire and invoiced on 4 July 1767 as '4 Mahogany carvd Library antique elbow chairs stuffd and coverd with black leather £26'. Another set, also for Nostell, was recorded on 15 October 1767 as '10 Mahogany french arm Chairs stuffd and coverd with blue Morine & brass naild £32 10s'. The Earl of Shelburne commissioned a set of '14 Mahogany Chairs with Antique backs & term feet very richly Carvd with hollow seats stuffd and covered with Red Morocco Leather & double brass naild £51 9s', invoiced by Chippendale on 20 January 1769. Finally, a set was delivered to Sir Edward Knatchbull for Mersham-le-Hatch and invoiced on 6 May 1772 as '16 carvd mahogany Chair with Compass backs stuffd & coverd with fine blue morocco leather and finishd with double rows of Brass nails 55/- £44'.
Chippendale's tendency to adapt and refine patterns can be seen when comparing the present pair of chairs with the Dumfries chairs. Although the arms, serpentined apron and front legs appear to be identical, the back legs are straight in contrast to the cabriole back leg on the Dumfries chairs. This straight or 'raked' back leg can be seen on other chairs made by Chippendale, such as the Goldsborough Hall dining-chairs (sold anonymously, Christie's, London, 4 July 1996, lot 340) and the Brocket Hall dining-chairs (sold from the Henry Francis Du Pont collection, Christie's, New York, 14 October 1994, lot 125). The leg can also be seen on a set of armchairs at Nostell Priory with Chinese fretwork filled arms (Gilbert, op. cit., vol. II, figs. 142, 143, 147 and 168) and a design for a dining-chair in the first edition (1754) of the Director (pl. XII).
The construction of the present chairs, with a rough blocking behind the serpentined apron also appears on the Dumfries chairs.
A very closely related armchair of the same model and with the same back legs as the present lot, but with different carving at the top of the front legs, is illustrated in M. Harris & Sons, Centenary Book, Suffolk, 1968, p. 45. This is possibly one of the pair of chairs that was sold from the Estate of Audrey Sheldon, Christie's, New York, 28 March 1981, lot 212.