Each with a baluster-form back over a saddle-form seat with circular recesses, raised on similarly modelled trestle base; one chair with old associated replacement to legs and stretcher
41¹⁄₂ in. (105.5 cm.) high, 18¹⁄₄ in.(46.5 cm.) wide, 19¹⁄₂ in. (49.5 cm.) deep

Acquired from Jeremy, London.

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Lot Essay

Popularized in the mid-18th century in Britain, the form of these chairs stems from the traditional Italian 'sgabello' seats of the Renaissance period, which were placed in the entrance halls of grand Italian palazzi and often decorated with heraldic motifs. The version of this form seen on the present pair of chairs, which notably has rounded seats, is identical to a set of supplied by the Edinburgh cabinetmaker Alexander Peter (1713-1772) for Dumfries House, Scotland in 1759. A further set of twelve of this form, though executed in oak, was supplied by William Masters of Coventry Street, Piccadilly to the 2nd Duke of Atholl (d.1764) for Blair Castle, Perthshire in 1751 (see: A. Coleridge, 'William Masters and some early 18th Century Furniture at Blair Castle, Scotland', The Connoisseur, October 1963, p. 79, fig. 5).