Furniture, Clocks & Works of Art

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 66. A pair of George II carved mahogany ‘smoking’ corner chairs, probably Lancashire, third quarter 18th century, possibly by Robert Gillow & Son.

Property from the Curwen collections at Workington Hall, Ewanrigg Hall and Belle Isle, Cumbria

A pair of George II carved mahogany ‘smoking’ corner chairs, probably Lancashire, third quarter 18th century, possibly by Robert Gillow & Son

VAT reduced rateUK: Greenford Park Warehouse

Auction Closed

November 9, 01:23 PM GMT

Estimate

4,000 - 6,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Property from the Curwen collections at Workington Hall, Ewanrigg Hall and Belle Isle, Cumbria

A pair of George II carved mahogany ‘smoking’ corner chairs, probably Lancashire, third quarter 18th century, possibly by Robert Gillow & Son

the yoke form top rail with pierced interlaced splats headed interspersed with columnar supports, the drop in seats with later silk damask upholstery above a moulded seat rail with a c-scroll and rocaille carved pierced apron, on acanthus carved carbiole legs with pierced claw and ball feet, en suite with previous lot

Probably Henry Curwen (1730-1778) for Workington Hall, Cumbria and removed to Homeacres, Carlisle before 1949 after Workington Hall was given up in the 1930s;
Thence by descent.

A Schedule & Appraisement of the Household Goods and Furniture in Workington Hall which the late Henry Curwen died Proffered of, 1778, probably from the suite of '14 Chairs with claws, 2 Smoking Chairs D^o' listed in the Dining Room, p. 1 (Cumbria Archives, DCU/7/1);
Inventory of the contents of Workington Hall, made by Messrs J R Mitchell and Sons, auctioneers & valuers of Cockermouth, 21 August 1931, the 'Two Chippendale Corner Arm Chairs with Claw and Ball and Club Feet' listed in the Library, pp. 16 & 18 (Cumbria Archives, DCU/1/217);
Copy of inventory of the furniture, pictures, silver, E.P.N.S. ware, Sheffield plate and china, the property of Mrs Isabel M Chance, Homeacres, Carlisle. By Telford & Scott, auctioneers & valuers, Carlisle, December 1949, the 'Pair Chippendale Mahogany Angle Chairs Chairs with loose tapestry seats, with claw and ball front supports', p. 2 (Cumbria Archives DCU/1/253).

For comparison, see the 'smoking chair' drawing in Gillows' Estimate Sketch Book from 1787 and illustrated Lindsay Boyton, Gillow Furniture Design, 1760-1800, Bloomfield Press, 1995, p. 175 (monochrome illustration 244).