A George II mahogany and walnut armchair attributed to Giles Grendy circa 1740

with a needlework drop-in seat; the exterior of the back seat rail stamped WF; the interior of the back seat rail stamped XI.

Overall good restored condition; the armrest with later plugs to backs at joins with stiles; the left armrest with a large repaired chip at join with stile; the right armrest with repaired chips at join with stile; the veneered apron with numerous age cracks, minor worm damage and with a grained patch to the front left corner; the veneers to the front of the apron are possibly later, although they appear to have similar figuring as those of the sides; later corner blocks; minor worm to seat rails; the drop-in seat with minor old worm; toes to the back legs tipped; the later needlework with small losses and minor areas of reworking; overall with old marks, scratches, scuffs and bruises consistent with age and use.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The back rail of this armchair is stamped with the initials WF.  A set of dining chairs attributed to Giles Grendey, with similar backrest, shell-carved legs and claw-and-ball feet, was sold in these rooms, April 16-17, 1998, lot 802. They too were stamped with the initials WF on the back rails, another chair stamped WF was sold in these rooms, April 18-19, 2002, lot 649.

Giles Grendey (1693-1780), furniture maker and timber merchant, is probably best known for the suite of furniture he produced for the Duke of Infantado at Lazcano castle in northern Spain. That suite contained over eighty pieces of scarlet-japanned furniture (for an illustration of one chair, see Christopher Gilbert, Furniture at Temple Newsam House and Lotherton Hall, Leeds: NACF and Leeds Art Collections Fund, 1978, vol. I, pp. 79-81, fig. 61).  Like the Infantado chairs, the back rail of the present lot has the impressed initials of a journeyman.  Chair makers in Grendey's workshop usually stamped the back rails with their initials. Christopher Gilbert illustrates a side chair with a Grendey label, in  his Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, Leeds: W. S. Maney, 1996, p. 242, fig. 435. That chair, part of a set of twelve, has hipped cabriole front legs, as on the offered chairs, is similarly carved with scrolls and shells, and has identical claw-and-ball feet.