An Important George III carved giltwood armchair the design attributed to Robert Adam circa 1775

the upholstered oval back within a ribbon-tied reeded molded frame, the padded arms issuing from foliate clasps and with foliate ornamented scrolled terminals above leaf carved in-curved supports, the upholstered seat within a deep serpentine frame with gadrooned and pearl beaded moldings enclosing linked circles of carved husks enclosing flower-head paterae, the tapered fluted legs headed by flower-head paterae and with turned collars and lobed toes.

Probably commissioned by Harry Paulet (or Powlett), the 6th Duke of Bolton (1719-1794), for "The Great Drawing Room," Bolton House, Russell Square, London.

Katherine, Duchess of Bolton, Grosvenor Square, London

Lady Katherine-Margaret Powlett, Duchess of Cleveland (d. 1807), Cleveland House, 19 St. James' Square, London and Raby Castle, Durham

Thence by descent to Harry Powlett, 4th Duke of Cleveland (1803-1891), Cleveland House, 19 St. James' Square, London, Raby Castle, Durham and Battle Abbey, Sussex

Probably with Lady Dalmeney, Duchess of Cleveland, Battle Abbey, Sussex

The present chair appears to be part of a larger suite of carved giltwood seat furniture of at least eight armchairs and a sofa, originally commissioned by Harry Poulettt, 6^th Duke of Bolton, for his house in Russell Square. Originally called Baltimore House, it was built on the Bedford Estate between 1761-1763 by Frederick Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore, probably to the plans of the architect Henry Flitcroft. In 1770 the house was leased to Harry Powlett, 6^th Duke of Bolton, "A naval man described by Horace Walpole as 'silly, brutal (and) proud.' Being keen to soar to 'taste and elegance,' Bolton promptly employed Robert Adam to remodel the house in the latest fashion," (See: Harris, "Robert Adam's interiors for Bolton House"). Adam's work at Bolton House took some seven years to complete, at which point it became "one of the most fashionable venues for parties in London." After the death of the Duke in December 1794, the remainder of the lease was taken by the then Lord Chancellor, Alexander Weddeburn, who subsequently acquired a new 99 year lease, which allowed him to extend the property and to divide it into three units. In 1910 half of the original Bolton House was demolished to make way for the expansion of the Imperial Hotel. Sadly, much of Robert Adam's elaborate interiors appear to have been totally destroyed at this time, although the elaborate ceiling of the Duchess of Bolton's Dressing Room was removed and installed in Percy Pyne's salon at 680 Park Avenue, New York, where it still remains.

A number of Robert Adam's superb and highly finished drawings representing the proposed interiors as presented to the Duke of Bolton are in the Sir John Soane's Museum, London. The dates of these indicate that the project was spread over some seven years and included architectural designs for ceilings and walls and for furniture. The first group includes the ceilings for an ante room and two dressing rooms, including that of the Duchess, dated 1770, "a passage," which is annotated "to direct Mr Middleton in the disposition of the paper," circa 1770, a "Chimney Piece for the Great Drawing room," dated 1777, and for "The great Drawing Room," dated 1776. The second group comprises a design for Girandoles, dated 1771, "Glass frame for the end of the Drawing room," dated 1772, "Glass frame over Chimney in Drawing room," 1772, a "Commode," dated 1773, a "Sofa," dated 1773 and a "Tripod," circa 1771, this being illustrated in The Works in Architecture of Robert and James Adam, 1773, pl. VIII.  

Although a design for the present chair is not included in this group, its overall design and that of the sofa, which originally formed part of the suite, clearly show a close affinity, both with other manuscript designs by Robert Adam and also with his other documented seat furniture. In particular the serpentine profile of the back of the sofa with its ribbon-tied reed moldings and paterae-embellished scrolled terminals are a common device found on drawings commissioned by the Duke of Northumberland for the Drawing Room at Northumberland House, a sofa for Derby House, and a small sofa executed for Sir Abraham Hume, Hill Street, London. The existing drawing for the "Sopha" designed by Adam "for His Grace The Duke of Bolton" again has a serpentine profile to the ribbon-tied reeded back with scrolled terminals, although this is centered by a wreathed medallion carved with a classical profile. The fluted legs have a similar profile to the present chair, although the seat-rail is fluted and is ornamented with swags of husks. Ten feet in length, this was undoubtedly designed for the Drawing Room "with its profusion of large mirrors in elaborate gilt quarter female terms holding festoons of husks. At the south end of the room was an even larger......with a raised arch in the center. Having four in one room.....was ostentatious to a degree," (Harris, "Robert Adam on Park Avenue: The interiors for Bolton House"). The present chairs and the rest of the suite were probably designed as part of the furnishings of the "Great Drawing Room," which was the largest of the reception rooms to be redecorated by Adam in 1776 and 1777. A far less ostentatious room, which contained no gilt mirrors, "The entire room was painted pale green, ceiling and walls alike. Against this plain background were plasters embellished with brightly coloured grotesques...the white marble chimney-piece inlaid with scagliola ornament," (Harris, op. cit.).       

The actual maker of the suite is, without documentary evidence, still unknown. Adam is known to have been associated with a number of leading cabinet and chair-making firms working in London during the third quarter of the 18^th century, including that of John Linnell and Mayhew and Ince, but there are no obvious details of the construction or execution of the carving to enable a firm attribution to be made. Other than a set of six side-chairs with oval ribbon-tied backs, which are related in design to the present chair and labeled Battle Abbey, formerly in the collection of Lord Burnham, no other furniture designed by Adam or with a possible provenance from Bolton House appears to have survived.   

The 6^th Duke died in 1794 and the Dukedom became extinct, his 2^nd daughter, Lady Katherine-Margaret Powlett being his co-heir and also co-heir of the Barony of St. John of Basing. She married in 1807 William-Henry, First Duke of Cleveland (1766-1842), and presumably it is through this line that the suite of seat furniture, of which the present chair probably formed part, descended, firstly to the 2nd Duke (1788-1842), then to the 3rd Duke (1792-1864), and finally to the 4th Duke (1803-1891), who, as Lord Harry Vane, purchased Battle Abbey in 1857. As A. H. Malan remarks in Famous Homes of Great Britain, "Everything, it appeared, required to be done to the place, and the work of restoration was an arduous undertaking." It was either at this time, or when Cleveland House was demolished in 1894, that the suite was removed to the Abbey, which had became the main residence of the Duchess of Cleveland after the death of the 4th Duke. It is next recorded in the possession of Herman B. Duryea, a leading American thoroughbred race horse owner who built an estate in Old Westbury, Long Island, New York known as Knole. A description of the Drawing Room in American Estates and Gardens notes that the room "is paneled in pearl. Great panels of red damask, curtains of the same brilliant color, and furniture from Battle Abbey." A contemporary photograph illustrates this sumptuous decoration together with part of the seat furniture and a pair of George III giltwood mirrors carved in the rococo manner. In 1910 the property was sold to Henry Phipps as a wedding present for his daughter Helen on the occasion of her marriage to Bradley Martin, and it appears that certain of the furnishings including the suite of seat furniture and the mirrors were acquired with the house; certainly the latter were in the house until recently, although it is unclear as to when the suite was dispersed.

An identical pair of chairs from the suite at Bolton House, was sold in these rooms, The Collection of Mr. & Mrs. Stephen C. Hilbert, May 24, 2007, lot 7 ($108,000).

RELATED LITERATURE

A. H. Malan, "Battle Abbey," Famous Homes of Great Britain and Their Stories, 1900, pp. 199-229

John Cordis Baker, Ed., American Country Homes and their Gardens, John C. Winston, c. 1906, "Residence of Herman B. Duryea, Esq., at Westbury, Long Island," pp. 21-25, p. 25, "A View in the Living Room"

American Estates and Gardens, 1906, "The House of Herman B. Duryea, Esq., Old Westbury, New York," pp. 43-53 

Parke Bernet Galleries Inc., New York, Important English Furniture, February 19, 1966, lot 112, "Pair Adam Carved and Gilded Wood Armchairs Circa 1780," Property of a New York Estate

Christie's, sale on the premises, Hall Barn, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, The property of Lt. Col., The Rt. Hon. Lord Burnham, September 29, 1969, lot, 135 

Eileen Harris, The Furniture of Robert Adam, 1973

Sotheby's, New York, October 13, 1994, lot 33, "A Fine and Important Pair of George III Giltwood Armchairs, Circa 1775," Property from a Private Collection

The Burlington Magazine, February 1995, Eileen Harris, "Robert Adam on Park Avenue: The Interiors for Bolton House," pp. 68-75