Walnut side chair with cabriole legs.
Identifier
FPF095
Title
Walnut side chair with cabriole legs.
Date
1740-1750
Description
Walnut side chair with pierced splat and cabriole legs, attributed to Giles Grendey.
Full Description
This walnut side chair has an undulating crest rail with rounded corners, meeting moulded, waisted and tapering back posts. The pierced splat is gently splayed towards the top and formed into four bars, the three piercings having gothic arches at the top and bottom. The splat fits into a ‘shoe’on the rear seat rail. The seat rail is waisted towards the back and curved, or compassed, at the front, and is veneered with cross-banded walnut. The drop-in seat is covered in a flowered silk damask material, now in poor condition. The front legs are cabriole with a boldly carved scallop shell on the knee and scroll-shaped ears, terminating in trifid feet. The back legs, which are continuous with the back posts, are cabriole, flared and have squared feet.
This is a well-made chair in good original condition. It has been tentatively attributed by Christopher Gilbert to the maker, Giles Grendey (1693-1780); it is similar but not identical to a set of twelve walnut chairs, c. 1740-45, bearing Grendey's trade label (Gilbert, 1996). Another set of nine related chairs attributed to Grendey were sold at Christie's London, 6 July 2000, lot 57.
A later version of this model but in mahogany was supplied by Gillows of Lancaster and London to William Hassell of Penrith in 1774 (Stuart, 2008). In the 1780s, Gillows modified the shape of the top rail to an arched form (ibid., p. 152, plate 100). A set of twelve mahogany chairs, probably by Gillows, is at Blickling Hall, Norfolk, formerly in the collection of Philip, 11th Marquess of Lothian (NT 354407).
The trifid foot is a motif generally associated with Irish furniture but there is no other evidence for this in this case.
This is a well-made chair in good original condition. It has been tentatively attributed by Christopher Gilbert to the maker, Giles Grendey (1693-1780); it is similar but not identical to a set of twelve walnut chairs, c. 1740-45, bearing Grendey's trade label (Gilbert, 1996). Another set of nine related chairs attributed to Grendey were sold at Christie's London, 6 July 2000, lot 57.
A later version of this model but in mahogany was supplied by Gillows of Lancaster and London to William Hassell of Penrith in 1774 (Stuart, 2008). In the 1780s, Gillows modified the shape of the top rail to an arched form (ibid., p. 152, plate 100). A set of twelve mahogany chairs, probably by Gillows, is at Blickling Hall, Norfolk, formerly in the collection of Philip, 11th Marquess of Lothian (NT 354407).
The trifid foot is a motif generally associated with Irish furniture but there is no other evidence for this in this case.
Condition
Later corner blocks on the seat rails
Materials
Walnut.
Upholstery.
Upholstery.
Physical Dimensions
H. 56
W. 94
D. 56
W. 94
D. 56
Marks
Incised ‘II’ on the front of the seat rail indicating that this chair was part of a larger set.
Parker Numbers
1499
Provenance
In stock prior to 1914. Value £3.10.0.
Notes
Christopher Gilbert, The Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, Furniture \History Society and Maney, 1996, p. 242, fig. 435.
Susan Stuart, Gillows: of Lancaster and London 1730-1840, Antique Collectors' Club, 2008 vol. I, pp. 151-152, plates 97, 100.
Dining chair 354407.1 | National Trust collections
Susan Stuart, Gillows: of Lancaster and London 1730-1840, Antique Collectors' Club, 2008 vol. I, pp. 151-152, plates 97, 100.
Dining chair 354407.1 | National Trust collections
