CIRCA 1805, ATTRIBUTED TO GILLOWS

In a bid to attract wealthy clientele, Gillows flattered some of their patrons by creating an exclusive pattern, usually for chairs, and then named the design after the patron (D. Jones, J. Urquhart, ‘Gillow in Scotland 1770-1830’, Regional Furniture, vol. XII, 1998, p. 12). This was almost certainly the case for the design of this chair, which is named the ‘Montgomerie pattern’ (ibid., fig. 17). Susan Stuart suggests it was the eponym of Hugh Montgomerie (1739-1819), 12th Earl of Eglington of Eglinton Castle and Coilsfield, near Irvine, who was an important customer of Gillows, and one of their largest Scottish commissions in which both the Lancaster and London workshops were involved (Gillows of Lancaster and London, 1730-1840, Woodbridge, 2008, pp. 206-207). While another suggestion is that the chair design was named after Lord Archibald Montgomerie (1773-1814) of Coilsfield House, Tarbolton, Ayrshire, whose balance due to Gillows was £1,145 16s 3/4d in 1802, £4,762 7s in 1805 and £465 12s in 1806 (Jones, Urquhart, ibid., p. 12). ‘Montgomerie pattern’ chairs were produced in both satinwood and in painted whitewood (Stuart, ibid., p. 207, plate 184). The Gillows' estimate sketch books record painters such as George Hutton receiving 10s 6d for japanning a chair of this type.