Details
Each cartouche-shaped back upholstered à chassis, with the arm-rests and seat covered in blue floral damask, the channeled frame headed by an acanthus-clasp, on cabriole legs headed with elongated foliage and on pointed scrolling feet
38 in. (96.5 cm) high; 27 in. (68.5 cm.) wide; 28 in. (71 cm.) deep
Provenance
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 2 February 1995, lot 352.
Literature
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
A. Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London, 1968, fig. 85 (side chair from Spencer House).
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Lot Essay

In their distinctive serpentine form and continuous moulding that runs along the seatrail and down the leg, these chairs are very similar, both visually and in construction to a set of five and three stools attributed to William Gordon, supplied to Spencer House and now at Althorp and a further six chairs, two settees and a suite of eight chairs by Gordon made for the 2nd Duke of Atholl in 1756 (see: Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London, 1969, pls. 85-87).
Although little is known about Gordon, it is clear that his workshop was one of high esteem and excellence, with notable documented commissions including work for Hopetoun House, Edinburgh; Blair Castle, Perthshire and the Duke of Gordon’s London residence, Santson House. Furthermore, in her 1776 list of preferred ebenistes and cabinet makers, the 1st Duchess of Northumberland lists ‘Gordon, London’ alongside hallmark names Ince & Mayhew and Chippendale, thus further confirming the craftsman’s status as one of the most fashionable of the day.

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