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Provenance: H. J. Joel, Childwick Bury, St. Albans, Hetfordshire, sold Christie's, sale on the premises, May 15, 1978, lot 76
Christie's, New York, October 9, 1993, lot 249, from the Collection of S. Jon Gerstenfeld, Washington DC.

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Notes: This highly important pair of chairs originally formed part of a probable suite of twelve chairs for which, at the moment, no satisfactory provenance has been discovered. The first illustration of a chair from the suite was in Percy Macquoid's The Age of Mahogany published in 1908 at which time it was possessed by Messrs. Isaacs, a noted London firm of antique dealers, the firm becoming M. Harris and Sons Ltd. circa 1915. However, R.W. Symonds recollected in an article in the June 1958 issue of The Antique Collector that 'The superb baroque chair was once one of a dozen armchairs. They were bought just after the First World War, if my memory serves e correctly, at an auction sale by M. Harris & Sons, the long established antique dealers who, finding it impossible to sell the chairs as a suite, therefore sold them in ones and twos to individual collectors. The consequence is that these twelve outstanding chairs are now in eight or more different homes, some in England and some in America'. (see:' Suites of Chairs and Sofas', pp. 97-102, fig. I). Because of this it has proved difficult to trace the pairs of chairs and single chairs which formed the original suite, a situation complicated by the use of both various silks and needlework to cover them. One chair which conforms to the others is known to have been at Browsholme Hall, Lancashire, the seat of the Parker family, in the 19^th century. It remained there until the 1960s, subsequently entering the collection of Mrs. John Hay Whitney before being sold by Sotheby's, New York in 1998. The Browsholme provenance is not particularly valuable, as the original house dates from the sixteenth century, with later additions designed by the architect Jeffry Wyatt in the early 19^th century for Thomas Lister. Certainly none of the past or present interiors leads one to believe that they were commissioned for the house. The present chairs were formerly in the collection of H.J. Joel, a member of a prominent South African family whose wealth was derived in the early 20^th century from gold and diamond mines. Mr. Joel was advised by R. W. Symonds, and the chairs were probably acquired from the London trade after the Second World war for his estate Childwick Bury, St. Albans.

Conceived in the full grandeur of the George II style of the 1740s their profile and full sculptural quality, executed in mahogany with a rich dark patination, clearly illustrates the capabilities of the English chair maker and carver working in the new medium of mahogany. The strength and fine grain of this 'new' timber, which was obtained from the Spanish dominions in the West Indies, allowed carvers to create form and detail which had not been possible with indigenous woods such as walnut. This is clearly shown in the present chairs with their deep, crisp and detailed carving.

Unfortunately, because of its lack of provenance, ascribing the suite to a particular maker can only be achieved on stylistic grounds. Certainly there were a number of major firms working in London at this time who were capable of producing furniture of this caliber. Amongst these was Benjamin Goodison, at the 'Golden Spread Eagle', Long Acre, London (c.1700-1767), William Bradshaw (fl.1728-d.1775), William Vile (c.1700/05-d. 1767), William Hallett (b.c.1707-d.1781), and Giles Grendey (b. 1693-d.1780). Of these both Goodison and Grendey may be considered in more detail.

The former succeeded his master James Moore in Royal Service, his first account being a lantern supplied to Hampton Court Palace. Other recorded commissions include the Duchess of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace and Earl Spencer, Althorp. Perhaps the most interesting commissions, however, are those for the Viscounts Folkestone at Longford Castle and the Earl of Leicester at Holkham, both of which include chairs with similar lion head terminals to those on the present lot. The Longford suite, which is in parcel-gilt mahogany, includes armchairs, stools and day-beds. The armchairs are a littler higher in the leg than the present chairs, have less boldly carved frames with foliate knees and, although the arm supports have a similar profile, the lions' heads slope downwards and have heavier beards and are not of the same character. (See: Edwards, op. cit.vol. I, p. 265, fig. 23). Similarly, an arm chair at Holkham is of a different 'family' to the present lions. The nearest parallel to be found is probably in the known work of Giles Grendey. Grendey was described in 1740 at the time of his wife's death as 'a great Dealer in the Cabinet Way', and in 1755 at the time of his daughter's marriage to the Royal cabinet maker John Cobb he was called 'an eminent Timber Merchant'. He is perhaps best known as the supplier of a magnificent suite of red and gold japanned furniture for the Duke of Infantando's castle at Lazcano in Northern Spain, but his obviously substantial business is unfortunately little documented in English country house archives. However, many of his pieces, although without provenance, bear his trade label and allow attributions to be made on stylistic grounds. One of the most significant of these pieces in respect to the present chairs is an unlabeled clothes-press in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The distinctively formed doors of which can be compared with labeled examples allowing a firm attribution to be made, the finely carved stand with its shaped and carved apron with paw feet having very close affinities to the frames of the present chairs.

Despite their lack of provenance and definite maker, these magnificent chairs remain as one of the most significant examples of the English-chair makers skill to survive from the 18^th century.

For other chairs from the suite see:
Percy Macquoid, The Age of Mahogany, 1908, London. P. 122, fig. 103, from the collection of Messrs. Isaacs
H.H. Mulliner, The Decorative Arts in England during the late XVII and XVIII Centuries, London, 1923, fig. 12, from the Collection of Colonel H. H. Mulliner
Oliver Brackett, The Encyclopaedia of English Furniture, London, 1927, pl. 55, from the Collection of James Thursby Pelham
Herbert Cescinsky and George Leyland Hunter, English and American Furniture,New York, 1929, p. 125, from the Collection of Percival Griffiths
R. W. Symonds, English Furniture from Charles II to George II, London, 1929, p. 191, fig. 148, and p. 209, fig. 168, from the Collection of Percival Griffiths
Herbert Ceskinsky, The Gentle Art of Faking Furniture, 1931, pl. 213
M. Harris & Sons Ltd., The English Chair, London, 1937, p. 107, pl. XXXVII
Ralph Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, London, 1953, vol. I, p. 265, fig. 124, from the Collection of Thursby Pelham
Yvonne Hackenbroch, English Furniture, The Irwin Untermyer Collection, New York, 1958, pls. 100-103, figs 127-130
Edward Joy, The Country Life Book of Chairs, London, 1968, pls. 29,30, from Browsholme Hall, Lancashire, Temple Williams, and Mrs. John Hay Whitney
Edward Lennox- Boyd, editor, Masterpieces of English Furniture The Gerstenfeld Collection, London, 1998, p. 56, pl. 40, p.215, cat no. 47, formerly in the Collection of Leslie Mackie, Northern Ireland, and David McAlpine, London