Beschreibung:

Details
A PAIR OF GEORGE II MAHOGANY AND PARCEL-GILT ARMCHAIRS
ATTRIBUTED TO PAUL SAUNDERS CIRCA 1755
The cartouche backs with C-scrolls and foliage and flanked by out-scrolled arms with foliate terminals supported by elongated foliate cartouches, above an apron centered with a cartouche flanked by C-scrolls and scrolling foliage on cartouche carved fluted legs ending in scrolled feet, the seats covered in 'Ferronene' green silk velvet, Italian, circa 1620, the backs in a complimentary fabric of later date, with printed and inscribed Ann and Gordon Getty Collection inventory label
43 1/2 in. (110.5 cm.) high, 31 1/2 in. (80 cm.) wide, 25 1/2 in. ( 64.5 cm.) deep
Provenance
Almost certainly commissioned by Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven (1714-1788), for Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincolnshire, probably shortly after his marriage to Mary Panton of Newmarket (November 27, 1750) as part of a suite of seat furniture which originally comprised six armchairs and two sofas.
Thence by descent to his son, Robert Bertie, 4th Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven (1756-1779).
Thence by descent to his daughter Priscilla Barbara Elizabeth Bertie, 21st Baroness Willoughby de Eresby (1761-1828).
Thence to Peter Robert Drummond-Burrell, 22nd Baron Willoughby de Eresby (1782-1865).
Thence to Albyric Drummond-Willoughby, 23rd Baron Willoughby de Eresby (d. 1870).
Thence to Clementina Drummond-Willoughby, 24th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby (1809-1888).
Thence to Gilbert Henry Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster (1830-1910).
Thence to Gilbert Henry Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 2nd Earl of Ancaster (1867-1951), Grimsthorpe Castle, by whom sold, circa 1934 (Although offered at Sotheby's, 11 May 1934, lot 168, the six armchairs were withdrawn from the sale).
With Arthur S. Vernay, Inc., New York.
The Collection of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.; Parke-Bernet Galleries Inc., New York, 29 April 1960, lot 227.
A Collection of English Furniture, Barometers and Clocks, formed by a Gentleman residing in New York (Arthur Leidesdorf); Sotheby's, London, 27-28 June 1974, lot 31.
Acquired from Hotspur Ltd., London, by Ann and Gordon Getty in 1982.
The fabric acquired from Mayorcas Ltd., London, by Ann and Gordon Getty in 1984.
Literature
A. Tipping, In English Homes, Period IV, Volume II, Grimsthorpe Castle, London, 1929, p. 316.
English Furniture, Irwin Untermyer Collection, Published by Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1958, pl. 116-20.
A. Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London, 1968, p.192, fig 182.
For the suite:
The suite recorded in 'Lady Willoughby's Drawing Room' at Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincolnshire in the 1812 household inventory.
G.R. and H.W. Harding A Catalogue of the Paintings, etc., Decorative Furniture, Works of Art and Porcelain at Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincolnshire: the Property of the Earl of Ancaster, London, 1901-3, p. 153.
C. Hussey, 'Grimsthorpe - III Lincolnshire: The seat of the Earl of Ancaster', Country Life, 26 April 1924, p. 653, fig. 7.
W. Rieder, ‘Eighteenth-Century Chairs in the Untermyer Collection’, Apollo, March 1978, vol. 107, p. 184.
J. Cornforth, ‘How French style touched the Georgian Drawing Room’, Country Life, 6 January 2000, p. 55, fig. 3.
D.O. Kisluk-Grosheide, W. Koeppe, W. Rieder, European Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Highlights of the Collection, New Haven and London, 2006, pp. 124-126, no. 48.
Special notice
Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.