BY THOMAS CHIPPENDALE, CIRCA 1770

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A SET OF SIX GEORGE III CREAM-PAINTED AND PARCEL-GILT OPEN ARMCHAIRS

BY THOMAS CHIPPENDALE, CIRCA 1770

Starting Bid USD 85,000

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Starting Bid USD 85,000

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The cartouche-shaped padded backs, arms and bowed seats upholstered in cream silk damask, the frames carved with stiff-leaf motif, the seat-rails carved with laurel, upon ring-turned fluted tapering legs headed by pinched collars and stiff-leaves terminating in foliate feet; minor variations to dimensions; re-decorated, five chairs retaining traces of original blue and gold decoration under several later schemes
35³⁄₄ in. (90.8 cm.) high, 25¹⁄₄ in. (64.1 cm.) wide, 19 in. (48.3 cm.) deep

Probably part of a larger suite supplied to Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood (1712-95), for Harewood House or 16 Portman Street, London.
With Berden Antiquairs B.V., Roermond, Netherlands (five armchairs).
Anonymous sale, Christie's, London, 28 June 1984, lot 63 (five armchairs).

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Lot Essay

A NEW DISCOVERY
While the provenance of these armchairs is currently lost, their authorship undoubtedly belongs to Thomas Chippendale. They exhibit constructional features characteristic of his workshop, including exposed back-struts, cramp cuts, and batten holes. In form and detail, they also adhere to what Christopher Gilbert identified as the ‘uniform character’ of Chippendale’s drawing-room chair designs of the 1770s. Having refined a supremely elegant and successful chair design, Chippendale wisely continued to producing variations of this core design—yet, crucially, never repeated the exact same decorative permutation twice.

This is what makes the present discovery so significant: the six chairs are identical to the model from Harewood House (see: a set of four armchairs recently sold, Property of the 7th Earl of Harewood’s Will Trust; Christie’s, London, 23 October 2024, lot 12 for £352,800). Given Chippendale’s known practice of varying each commission, it would have been entirely out of character for him to replicate a design for another client. Their precise match to the Harewood chairs strongly suggests that this set must originally have been part of the same commission—either as a larger set for Harewood House itself or, possibly, for the Lascelles’ London residence at No. 16 Portman Street.

NO. 16 PORTMAN STREET?
The 1795 Harewood House inventory records a ‘sopha, 2 Conversasion [sic] Stools & 3 Chairs Blue & Gold covered with blue Damask’ in Lady Harewood’s Dressing Room, and although the identical set of armchairs sold from the Earl of Harewood’s Will Trust; Christie’s, London, 23 October 2024, lot 12 included four chairs rather than three, they seem to be the most likely candidate when considered with the sofa and stools en suite.

Four further sets of blue and parcel-gilt seat furniture are recorded in 18th century inventories at Harewood House and No. 16 Portman Street.

At Harewood House:
1.) A suite of two sofas, two conversation stools and eight armchairs with ‘blue & gold frames covered with Pea Green Damask & green Serge loose covers’ are recorded in the Saloon in 1795 and remain in situ dispersed throughout the state rooms (Harewood House 1795 Inventory, p. 17).

2). A set of twelve armchairs appear to belong to a group of ‘8 Chairs Blue & Gold covered with Blue Damask’ recorded in Lord Harewood’s Bedchamber (sold, ‘Thomas Chippendale 300 Years’; Christie’s, London, 5 July 2018, lot 18).

At No. 16 Portman Street:
3). ‘6 Cabreole Chairs finish’d in Blue & Gold coverd with Blue mix’d Damask and brass naild’ are recorded in ‘Mr. Lascelle’s Bedchamber’ in the 1784 inventory .

4). ‘8 Carvd Cabreole Chairs finish’d in Blue & Gold, covered with Blue mixd Damask and Serge Cases’ are recorded in the ‘Blue Dressing Room’ 1784 inventory.

Given the French form of the present chairs, aptly described by the 18th-century term cabriole, and the original Prussian blue paint scheme revealed through paint analysis, it seems increasingly likely that this set was one of the two recorded at 16 Portman Street in 1784, either in Mr. Lascelles’s Bedchamber or the Blue Dressing Room.

THE RECENT HISTORY
The present set of six chairs almost certainly includes a group of five previously with the Dutch dealer Berden Antiquairs in Roermond. How they came to the Netherlands remains unknown. These five chairs were subsequently sold at Christie’s, London, on 28 June 1984, lot 63. While the buyer at that sale is unrecorded, the most plausible scenario is that the purchaser , who was likely an antiques dealer, already owned, or later sourced, a matching sixth chair from the same original suite.

This theory is supported by paint sample analysis conducted by Catherine Hassall. Her findings show that the five chairs, almost certainly the five from the 1984 sale, share the same decorative treatment history, suggesting they were always kept together:
The chairs were originally given a gesso ground and then decorated blue and gold. The gold was water gilding over a reddish clay. The blue was a mix of lead white and Prussian blue, a pigment invented in circa 1712. At some point the chairs were all decorated blue and gold once more. The original scheme was partly cleaned off, and fresh gesso applied. The gold leaf was laid over a dark brown clay. The blue was again a mix of Prussian blue and lead white. The fact that the pigments were very finely-ground, and the use of lead white suggests this was done in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. In recent years, using paints based on titanium dioxide white, the chairs were painted white.

In contrast, paint analysis of the sixth chair revealed only fragments of gesso, indicating that earlier layers may have been lost or were not captured in the sample. Either way, it appears this chair, though originally part of the same commission, was separated from the group and underwent a different decorative and ownership history. It was ultimately reunited with the other five chairs before being acquired by Anne H. Bass, in whose collection they have remained ever since.

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Condition report

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The condition of lots can vary widely and the nature of the lots sold means that they are unlikely to be in a perfect condition. Lots are sold in the condition they are in at the time of sale.

All chairs are carved from limewood, with limewood rails. They have a chic and intentionally distressed surface with scattered chips, minor flaking, and areas with losses to the painted and parcel-gilt surfaces revealing gesso, bole, and bare wood in places. Paint analysis has been done on these chairs, and chairs B-F were all treated the same in the early years, and traces of the original scheme survive which are described in greater depth further below in this report. All chairs have cramp cuts and tourniquet screw holes to the rails, chairs B-F have batten-carrying holes, and all of these features are consistent with constructional techniques used in the Chippendale workshop. Each with minor old inactive wormholes to the rails as is to be expected. All chairs with typical scuffs, nicks, tiny losses and repairs to carving commensurate with age and use. Wear and old repairs to feet. They are all are structurally sound; the upholstery is in good appearance with scattered minor loose threads and rubbing but the suite is ready to use as-is.

PAINT ANALYSIS RESULTS FROM CATHERINE HASSALL:
Chair ‘A’ contained only fragments of gesso. However, the samples from the other chairs show that in the early years they were all being treated the same. The chairs were originally given a gesso ground and then decorated blue and gold. The gold was water gilding over a reddish clay. The blue was a mix of lead white and Prussian blue, a pigment invented in circa 1712. At some paint the chairs were all decorated blue and gold once more. The original scheme was partly cleaned off, and fresh gesso applied. The gold leaf was laid over a dark brown clay. The blue was again a mix of Prussian blue and lead white. The fact that the pigments were very finely-ground, and the use of lead white suggests this was done in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. In recent years, using paints based on titanium dioxide white, the chairs were painted white.

Chair labelled 'A':
(36¹⁄₄ in. high, 25¹⁄₂ in. wide, 19 in. deep)
- Chair A has a different history than the other chairs in the suite, and was most likely dipped at some point, removing the traces of earlier decoration which remain intact on the other chairs in this set.
- The proper left back leg has an old splice repair, now only visible upon close inspection as a result of subsequent shrinking.
- Both front feet have been re-tipped, and thus are less worn down than the feet of the other chairs in this set.
- The blocks at the top of each front leg lack the mouldings, which are present on the other chairs. This makes the legs look somewhat visually different, but the pieces of moulding could be replaced by the next owner to remedy this issue.
- Old repaired breaks around the joins commensurate with age and use, and well-disguised
- The central back strut probably a later well-matched replacement
Chair labelled 'B':
(35³⁄₈ in. high, 25¹⁄₂ in. wide, 19 in. deep)
- Shrinkage and some minor old repairs around joins; mostly to back
- Minor old repairs to feet commensurate with age and use?
Chair labelled 'C':
- With old repaired breaks to both back legs, just above the feet. Reinforced with dowels, which are now slightly visible from the back as a result of shrinkage.
- Well-disguised old repairs to arm-rest supports and around joins on the cartouche-form back, commensurate with age and use.
Chair labelled 'D':
- Scattered old well-disguised repairs throughout, particularly around the joins.
- Some shrinkage at joins commensurate with age.
Chair labelled 'E':
(35³⁄₄ in. high, 25³⁄₄ in. wide, 19 in. deep)
- Central back strut probably a later replacement
- With well-repaired old breaks concentrated around joins on back
- Old repairs to feet as to be expected
Chair labelled 'F':
(36¹⁄₂ in. high, 25³⁄₄ in. wide, 19 in. deep)
- Repairs to front feet to reinforce them, commensurate with age and use
- Old well-disguised repairs concentrated around the joins

Additional Dimensions:
Seat height: about 17 in.
Armrest height: about 26³⁄₄ in.
Seat width: 25 in.
Seat depth: 20 in.

Print Report