THE EARLS OF SHAFTESBURY AND ST. GILES'S HOUSE
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 4th Earl of Shaftesbury (d.1771) inherited St. Giles's House Dorset, as it was historically known, in 1713. It was originally built in 1651 by the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury (1621-1683) who inherited extensive estates and other holdings which made him one of the wealthiest men in England. Under Henry Flitcroft (d.1767) and his successor, Stephen Wright (d.1780), the original Jacobean residence underwent a long-term refurbishment that reflected the aesthetic transition from the Roman villa inspired grandeur to the incorporation of the ‘Modern’ taste which infused St. Giles’s with novelty’ and ‘variety’ as lauded by the artist, William Hogarth’s Analysis of Beauty (1753). This natural evolution under a sophisticated and enlightened patron resulted in the creation of into one of England’s grandest mid-Georgian interiors.
Attributed to William Vile, this pair of chairs (along with lot 37 in this sale) was probably part of the seat-furniture sold in the 26 June 1980 auction at Christie’s London of property from St. Giles’s house, by the order of the Trustees of the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury. This auction included other Palladian furniture also presumably designed by Flitcroft.
THE ST. GILES'S SUITE
These extraordinary armchairs, with exuberantly carved frames of virtuosic quality, formed part of one the most celebrated and iconic suites of seat-furniture created in 18th century England, which was commissioned by the 4th Earl of Shaftesbury (1711-1771) and is now known as the St. Giles's Suite. They are masterpieces of the sculptor-carver's art and when R.W. Symonds, one of the legends of English furniture scholarship, was discussing them, he remarked that ‘…no expense was spared in making these chairs the best of their kind'.
Originally comprising four settees and twenty-five armchairs (possibly more), this grand suite was intended for use in the Drawing Room, which, along with the other principal apartments, had been renovated in the 1740s by the 4th Earl in the fashionable Palladian taste. The suite’s combination of both Roman and French elements is a clear reflection of this, while it also incorporates the latest trend for rococo, or what Thomas Chippendale described as the 'Modern' style in his 1754 Director. The chairs, which would have been placed around the room's perimeter, complimented the architectural decoration and corresponded with the other furnishings, such as five mirrored sconces, whose frames displayed the head of Ceres, festooned with fruit and flowers (sold by the Earl of Shaftesbury, Christie's, London, 26 June 1980, lots 53-55).
THE COMMISSION
The commission of the suite may have been intended to celebrate the Earl’s second marriage in 1759 to Mary Bouverie (1730-1804), daughter of Jacob, 1st Viscount Folkestone (d. 1751) or his appointment the following year as George III's Lord Lieutenant of Dorset. That appointment was also commemorated by a portrait commissioned from Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1760, the frame for which was enriched with flowers, trellises, and shells, which echo the decoration of these chairs (R. W. Symonds, St. Giles's House, Guidebook, 1956, p. 5).
THE ORNAMENT
This form of easy chair was called a 'French Chair' in Chippendale's Director, and inspiration for the stylized motifs derive from various plates in the publication, including elements such as the Doric guttaed plinths seen on 'Gothick' and 'Chinese' chair-patterns, and the flower-entwined pilasters seen on a china cabinet (pls. XXI, XXVII, and CVIII). Through the rich combination of these details, the St. Giles's Suite served to introduce the ornament of Arcadia, the Poet's paradise, to the stately Drawing Room. Their richly flowered frames record the triumph of Venus and display her festive scallop-shell badge. Symbolizing 'Peace and Plenty', there are swagged garlands of flowers and fruit, emblematic of Ceres, the kindly harvest deity of Virgil's Georgics, entwining the arms and legs. Such iconography would have been immediately recognized and interpreted by the 18th century viewer, for whom it would have held inherent significance.
THE ATTRIBUTION TO WILLIAM VILE
An extensive search of the Shaftesbury family papers has frustratingly revealed very little in the way of direct payments to cabinet-makers and thus an attribution of this extraordinary suite remains something of a mystery. In the section titled ‘Extraordinary Disbursements’ of the Household Account Book, the cabinet-maker William Hallett (d.1781) was paid £167 in February 1745 for ‘carved chairs’, however, this date is too early to correspond to these chairs which date stylistically to the mid-1750s. Interestingly, Thomas Chippendale was even credited with the manufacture of the St. Giles's suite in a memorandum drawn up by the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (d.1885) in the middle of the 19th Century. He described them as 'very valuable and fine, being by Chippendale', although subsequent research has proved this to be unfounded.
The St. Giles's Suite is now generally attributed to the royal cabinet-maker William Vile (d.1767) who worked with Hallett earlier in his career before he was appointed as cabinet-maker to George III. On a stylistic basis, guttaed feet similar to those seen in the present lot were adopted by him for stools which he and his partner John Cobb supplied for the Vyne, Hampshire and invoiced in March 1753. The attribution is further supported by the superb carving of the suite, which is filigreed in the intricate manner adopted by architectural model makers. Visually it corresponds with the characteristics of furnishings supplied by Vile and Cobb for the royal residences of George III and Queen Charlotte, including Kensington Palace, St. James's Palace, and the Queen's House, now Buckingham Palace. It is conceivable that Hallett, a former colleague and close friend of Vile, introduced Vile to Lord Shaftesbury since he had worked for him on earlier commissions.
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