Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

A Fine and Rare George II Carved Mahogany Library Armchair

$89,021.01
£65,000
€76,367.03
CA$124,856.42
A$136,934.34
CHF 70,622.77
MX$1,635,796.68
NOK 895,711.60
SEK 840,279.11
DKK 570,517.85

About the Item

English, ca. 1755 Attributed to Paul Saunders The padded back with serpentine top rail, above a serpentine padded seat, the padded armrests on scrolled supports carved with C-scroll cabochons and foliage, with C-scroll, acanthus, trellis and rockwork carved shaped seatrails, on conformingly-carved cabriole legs with scrolled feet and recessed castors. This chair shows all the hallmarks of Great English Cabinetmaking and is a Masterclass of the exquisite quality of craftsmanship available in the mid 18th century. Incorporate great design, and the highest quality of materials and the result is a true masterpiece for its period. It is therefore needless to say that a chair like this must have been part of an important commission demanding the highest standard and in today’s market a rare survival. So far one other chair of this model has been discovered and was part of the highly important collection of Gerald Hochschild, sold by Sotheby’s London, 1 December 1978, lot 38. And subsequently bought by the famous London dealers Mallett and Sons. Paul Saunders furniture maker (1722 – 1771) Paul Saunders was one of the most important suppliers of fashionable upholstered furniture of the 1750s and 1760s, as well as holding the position Tapestry Maker to His Majesty George III from 1757. Around 1751 he formed an association and partnership with George Smith Bradshaw, and possibly also his brother William Bradshaw, already established and with an impressive clientele. Based around Carlisle House, Soho Square and 59 Greek Street, Saunders established a substantial workshop employing as many as 37 workmen. Primarily upholsterers and cabinet-makers, the company also supplied tapestries for Holkham and Petworth. Throughout his career Saunders enjoyed the patronage of many of the most high profile clients both in London and the country. Early in his partnership he was employed at Mansion House and from 1755-58 at Holkham, supplying furniture, upholstery fabric and bed furniture for the 1st Earl of Leicester. He appears to have worked for the Earl and Countess of Egremont at Petworth over a period of nearly twenty years from as early as 1748, and from 1765 until his death in 1771 he carried out work for the Duke of Bedford at both Woburn and at Bedford House, London. He worked for Sir John Griffin Griffin at Audley End, Essex from 1765 where his fellow cabinet-makers John Gordon and Richard Taitt were also later employed. Dimensions Width 76 cm (30″) Height 98 cm (38 1/2”) Depth 67.5 cm (26 1/2″) Provenance Moss Harris, London, England Private collection, England Literature Moss Harris, A catalogue and Index of Old Furniture and works of Decorative Art 1932, Volume 2 , p 204. (Full page Image) L. Synge, Mallett’s Great English Furniture, London, 1991, p. 123, fig. 138 (illustrated behind the Chippendale Combe Abbey desk)
  • Attributed to:
    Paul Saunders (Cabinetmaker)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 38.5 in (97.79 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)Depth: 38.5 in (97.79 cm)
  • Style:
    Chippendale (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1755
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: REF 10221stDibs: LU10143246843382

More From This Seller

View All
A Fine George II Period Mahogany Carved Corner Chair
Located in London, GB
The gracefully curved top rail is exquisitely carved with acanthus detailing, while the outstretched arms are supported by three finely fluted columns. The back splats are beautifull...
Category

Antique 18th Century British George II Corner Chairs

Materials

Linen, Mahogany

A Pair of Regency Period X-Framed and Ebonised Oak window Seats
Located in London, GB
Each with rectangular padded seats upholstered in an antique yellow linen fabric. On moulded X-framed legs, joined by baluster stretchers ending on leaf wrapped feet. These Seats ar...
Category

Antique 19th Century British Regency Chairs

Materials

Linen, Oak

An Unusually Long Regency Period Mahogany Bench
Located in London, GB
In the manner of Charles Heathcote Tatham. This window seat, elegantly framed and panelled with a reeded frieze, rests upon reeded legs adorned with finely carved paterae. Its impre...
Category

Antique 19th Century British Regency Benches

Materials

Mahogany

A Fine George III Period Mahogany Tripod Table
Located in London, GB
A George III tripod table of wonderful proportions and great untouched colour. The crisply carved spiral fluted stem ending in a tri-foot with acanthus carving on the knees terminat...
Category

Antique 18th Century English George III Tables

Materials

Mahogany

A Small Proportioned George II Period Mahogany Tea Table
Located in London, GB
An unusually small, mahogany tea table of extraordinary colour and patina. The hinged top leaf opens up to a rich mahogany surface, with a lockable second leaf revealing a mahogany ...
Category

Antique Mid-18th Century British George II Card Tables and Tea Tables

Materials

Mahogany

A George III Period Mahogany Tripod Table
Located in London, GB
A George III tripod table of wonderful proportions and great untouched colour. This wonderful example of great 18th century design has survived in the most spectacular condition. H...
Category

Antique 18th Century English George III Tables

Materials

Mahogany

You May Also Like

19th Century Carved Mahogany Library Armchair in the Chippendale Style
Located in Martlesham, GB
19th Century carved mahogany library armchair in the Chippendale style, upholstered in a cream fabric with a decorative floral pattern, high shaped back with a large cushioned seat, ...
Category

Antique 1880s British Chippendale Armchairs

Materials

Mahogany

18th Century George III Carved Mahogany Gainsborough Armchair
Located in Dublin 8, IE
18th Century George III carved mahogany Gainsborough armchair with a gently curved upholstered back and carved, shaped arms, complete with scrolled handles and leaf-carved moldings t...
Category

Antique 18th Century Irish George III Armchairs

Materials

Mahogany

Antique George III period carved mahogany armchair
Located in London, GB
A Mid-18th Century Chippendale period mahogany Armchair having acanthus carved serpentine top-rail above interlaced splat. The Chair, with carved & fluted set-back arms & drop-in sea...
Category

Antique Mid-18th Century English Chippendale Office Chairs and Desk Chairs

Materials

Mahogany

Antique George III period carved mahogany armchair
Located in London, GB
A Mid-18th Century Chippendale period mahogany Library Gainsborough Armchair having acanthus carved set-back arms supported on fluted legs with leaf carving to the lower sections.
Category

Antique Mid-18th Century English Chippendale Armchairs

Materials

Mahogany

English George III style Hand-Carved Mahogany Open Armchair
Located in New York, NY
A Fantastic and Quite Well Constructed 19th-Century English George III Hand-Carved Mahogany Open Armchair. The rectangular backrest has a subtly curved crest rail and is fully uphols...
Category

Antique 19th Century English George III Armchairs

Materials

Upholstery, Mahogany

Spectacular Circa 1750 English Carved Mahogany Library Chair
Located in Charlottesville, VA
This mid-18th century library chair features deeply carved mahogany with acanthus motifs, scroll arms, and cabriole legs on casters. The ri...
Category

Antique Mid-18th Century British Armchairs

Materials

Upholstery, Mahogany