The reeded rectangular back carved with ribbons and beading, the arms with paterae terminals on downswept supports carved with laurel above blocks carved with palmette sprays, the seat rail with hairbell motif on tapering reeded legs headed by paterae and terminating in foliate feet on later cators, the back, seat padded arms and sides upholstered in yellow and pale blue cut silk damask, redecorated, the legs reduced in height and later capped
35 in. (89 cm.) high; 98 in. (249 cm.) wide; 32¹⁄₂ in. (82.5 cm.) deep

Probably supplied to Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood (1712-95), for Harewood House, Yorkshire, thence by descent.

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Lot Essay

This elegant sofa, conceived in the French taste, relates to a large suite of giltwood seat furniture with square backs and flared tapering legs - a distinctive hallmark of Thomas Chippendale’s oeuvre – that was almost certainly supplied for the White Drawing Room at Harewood House (see J. Goodison, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale Junior, China, 2017, pp. 313 & 367, figs. 107 & 108). The suite includes a sofa of comparable form which Goodison dates to the mid-1780s. Chippendale Junior supplied a mahogany sofa of very similar outline to Patrick Home’s London house in Gower Street in 1787 (op. cit., p. 366, fig. 188) and it is very likely the present sofa is of a similar date.

Although it does not appear in the surviving Chippendale Junior accounts for work undertaken for Edward Lascelles, later 1st Earl Harewood (1740-1820) - which cover the period 5 August 1796 to 3 May 1797 for the London house on Hanover Square and 5 August 1796 to 13 January 1797 for Harewood House – the following entry for work at the town house is worth highlighting:

‘1797
Feb^y7
Altering your large Sofa by lowering the
Back and making the Seat Shallower
Finishing D^oin burnish’d Gold and White,
double stuffing in fine Linen in the French
manner, with a Squab, 3 back Cushions
border’d & 2 Bolsters covering with your
Blue Stripe Taberay and finishing with Blue Silk Gimp and Silk Cord
Tape £15 5s 0d’

The present sofa would certainly qualify as large, measuring 98 inches wide, however there is ostensibly no evidence that is has be altered as described in Chippendale Junior’s account. The account remains of interest as it highlights the possibility of a longstanding working relationship between Chippendale Junior and the 1st Earl, who when faced with an unfinished Gallery at Harewood in 1795 continued to employ the firm. It also references a ‘burnish’d Gold and White’ decoration which relates to some degree to the original scheme of the present lot (see condition report).

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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.

In good country house condition.
With the inevitable chips, marks, and wear consistent with age and use.
The upholstery with signs of aging, would benefit from a light clean.
The fringing detached in some places but easily refixed.
The painted and gilt decoration with chips in some areas revealing the gesso and small areas of timber beneath.
A repaired break to the back left leg.
A spliced repaired break to the back right leg.
As stated in the cataloguing, the legs reduced in height and the castors are later.
As stated in the cataloguing, the sofa has been redecorated with traces of the original green decoration visible beneath.
Chalk marking to the right side of back rail 'YG-368'.
Structurally sound and ready to place.

DECORATION
No evidence of original gilding was found, only white oil paint, applied over a gesso ground. The sofa was quite thoroughly cleaned down at some point in the nineteenth-century, and early layers were missing in some of the samples, particularly those taken from the back rail. Therefore it remains a possibility that original gold was lost.
However, the samples taken from the rosette at the top of the leg and the leaves at the base of the leg showed that these features were certainly originally painted white over a gesso ground. Had gilding been involved one would normally expect gold to have been used on the rosette.
The white was mixed with a few tiny particles of charcoal black and will have had a slightly greyish tone. A second scheme of pale green similar to greens used on other items in the house in the 19th century was applied. This was based on a mix of Prussian blue and yellows
In the third phase, the sofa was sanded down, and so early layers are now missing in some areas, the sofa was then painted Green once more. In the fourth scheme, a third lot of green was used and still based on lead white and must therefore have been applied before the middle of the 20^thcentury.
The final scheme which we see today is white and gold. The white paint used is based on lithopone white, so this work was carried out at some point in the middle of the 20^thcentury. ‘Gold’ paint has since been applied to all gilded surfaces.

Print Report