Pair of Low Back Side Chairs or Meiguiyi, 19th Century

An exceptional pair of Regency period chairs, with a well-shaped 'Klismos' outline and unusually generous proportions, attributed to George Oakley of Bond Street. London, circa 1810. Four pairs available: to purchase a set of eight chairs, please select quantity 4 pairs. Priced per pair. Why we like them: With front legs unusually splayed in two dimensions, this design is one of the most sophisticated examples from the Regency period. Unusual in form, subtle in ornamentation, and outstanding in quality, these chairs display the decorative techniques of cabinetmaking, rather than joinery. The veneers and Greek-key brass inlays cover the seat rails and front leg joints—a highly unusual feature for chairs—demonstrating superb cabinetmaking skills and suggesting a high-end workshop origin. Attribution: The extremely rare ‘double-splayed’ front legs, derived from ancient Greek Klismos seats, along with exquisite brass inlays, contribute to these chairs' distinctive elegance. This form, along with certain decorative elements, aligns with other pieces traditionally attributed to George Oakley (1773–1840), one of the foremost London cabinetmakers of the period. The scrolling foliage pattern of the inlays on the back tablets of these chairs matches the decoration on a spider-leg sofa table illustrated in F. Collard’s Regency Furniture (Woodbridge, 1987, p. 317) and Mallett’s The Age of Matthew Boulton - Masterpieces of Neo-classicism (London, 2000, pp. 112-113). This table, belonging to a group of furniture firmly attributed to Oakley, likely originates from the same workshop as these chairs. An identically decorated daybed, en suite with these chairs, appears in the same Mallett catalogue (pp. 94-95). A magnificent center table, featuring the same inlays and possibly from the same suite, was sold at Christie’s, New York, 29 January 1994, lot 342. An identical pair of chairs is illustrated in Ronald Phillips’s Fine Antique English Furniture 2018, pp. 158-159. George Oakley: George Oakley’s firm produced stylish Grecian-inspired furniture around the turn of the 19th century, pioneering ‘Buhl’ inlay, a decorative technique that regained popularity in the Regency’s early years. Fashionable materials like rosewood, mahogany, and calamander were often used in Oakley's furniture, combined with satinwood, ebony inlays, brass stars, and metal bands. His high-class furniture earned him a royal appointment and a reputation for fine craftsmanship. Visits by the royal family to Oakley's Bond St. Showrooms are recorded as in the Morning Chronicle of 1799. In May, “the ROYAL FAMILY, with the PRINCE and PRINCESS of ORANGE did Mr. OAKLEY the honor of viewing his Printed Furniture...

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