This impressive set of giltwood seat furniture is closely related to a magnificent and extensive set comprising seventeen armchairs, a sofa and eight stools, supplied by Henry Thomas Peters to King Carlo Alberto of Piedmont-Sardinia (1798-1849) for the Presence Chamber (Camera delle Udienze or Sala di Ricevimento) of the Palazzo Reale in Genoa (A. González-Palacios, Il Mobile in Liguria, Milan, 1996, p. 324, pl. 387).

Henry Thomas Peters’ English antecedents remain obscure although he probably began his career in England. However, he is not listed in Beard and Gilbert’s Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840. He arrived in Genoa in circa 1817, and by 1824 had established a workshop in Via Balbi, a neighbourhood in which the Royal Palace and other noble residences were located; today some of his works are preserved in the Palazzo Rosso, Genoa and were probably bequests from the various aristocratic families for whom he worked, including the Brignole Sale family. He initially specialised in mahogany in the Regency-style but by 1821-25 was making Empire-style giltwood furniture. In the local Gazzetta, Peters described himself as, 'scagnettiere e negoziante in grosso e in dettaglio di mahogany e di altri legni particolari forestieri', and maker of ' letti, seggiole, scrigni, serittoj, tavole, sofa’, ecc' [‘chairmaker, wholesaler and retailer of mahogany and other imported woods; maker of beds, chairs, boxes, desks, tables, sofas, etc.’]. His resultant success enabled him to open a shop in Palazzo Cambiaso (either Via Garibaldi or Piazza Fossatello), and subsequently, as noted in the Gazzetta on 14 February 1835, he moved to the first floor of the Palazzo De Mari.

Between 1836 and 1846, he supplied furniture to the Royal House of Savoy for their palaces in Turin, Genoa and Racconigi, including the aforementioned Palazzo Reale set, and notably, in 1841, furniture for the wedding of Prince Vittorio Emanuele. In 1846, Peters and his extensive workshop won the silver medal at the Esposizione dei Prodotti e delle Manifatture Nazionali.
Despite an illustrious career, his business later went into decline, and by 1849 he was declared bankrupt. He died in September 1852, his obituary mourning the loss of an entrepreneur described as more of a paternal figure than a manager to his numerous workers, 'padre piu' che principale degli operaj da lui dipendenti'.