139 - A FINE GEORGE III CARVED MAHOGANY CHAIR BACK SETTEE

A FINE GEORGE III CARVED MAHOGANY CHAIR BACK SETTEE IN THE MANNER OF THOMAS CHIPPENDALE, CIRCA 1760 With pierced fret stretchers, raised on brass castors 100.5cm high, 126.5cm wide, 64cm deep Provenance: The Grange, Trowbridge William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, acquired from M. Harris & Sons on 5th April 1922 for £175 William Hulme Lever, 2nd Viscount Leverhulme, at 39 Upper Brook Street until February 1926 Sotheby's London, The Leverhulme Collection at Thornton Manor, Wirral, Merseyside (L01703), 26th June 2001, lot 297 (£7,200 incl. BP). A settee of chair back form, which converts into a daybed as the present lot might originally have done, is at Nostell Priory and is illustrated in The Dictionary of English Furniture, vol.2, p.143, fig. 19. The present lot however is distinguished from this example by its unusual splat, which unlike most chair-back settees is not of double chair back form. Although no directly comparable splat is known, a design attributed to Mathias Darly shows a fluid chair back settee where the two splats have merged into one (cf. Elizabeth White, Pictorial Dictionary of British 18th century Furniture Design, 1990, p.110). Please note, the estimate for this lot has been revised and differs from the printed catalogue. Condition Report: Marks, scratches and abrasions commensurate with age and use. Some old splits and chips. The upholstery generally in good useable order with some fading, minor marks and wear. The underside of the frame with later batons of timber screwed and nailed to provide stability. Two later corner brackets to the back two corners. Some old repairs, including to spandrels. Solid and stable overall. Some fading and discolouration to the top rails and arms. With excellent crisp carving throughout.