A George III mahogany armchair attributed to John Cobb circa 1765

Overall good restored condition; old repaired chips to undersides of handholds at join with a upholstery; the front right side bracket replaced; later corner blocks; some old worm to underside of brackets; underside of back and right seat rails with areas of infilling to worm holes; once fitted with casters; old repaired break to top of front left leg; chips and wear to bottom edges of feet; overall with some old marks, scratches, scuffs and bruises.
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 present chair belongs to a larger group of similarly conceived seat furniture, the most notable of which is a suite of two arm chairs and six side chairs originally commissioned by the Battie-Wrightson family for Cusworth Hall, Doncaster, Yorkshire in the early 1760s (See: Anthony Coleridge, The Cusworth Suite, Hotspur/Jeremy, London, 2007).  Retaining their original needlework seats which have a design taken from Robert Wood's The Ruins of Palmyra, 1753, their overall profile and the carved detail of the legs appears to be identical to the present chairs.  In his monograph, Anthony Coleridge discusses in full the possible maker of the Cusworth chairs, noting that the account books of the Battie-Wrightson family record payments in the 1760s to a number of cabinet-makers including   John Cobb of St. Martin's Lane, Joseph Graham & Partners of St. Paul's Church Yard, and Richard Wright and Edward Elwick of Wakefield, Yorkshire.  Unfortunately, none of the entries is sufficiently detailed to positively identify the suite as coming from a particular workshop and Coleridge, having discussed the known oeuvre of Cobb and Wright and Elwick, reaches an acknowledged unproven conclusion that the former was the maker responsible.

Another chair, but lacking the carved supports to the upholstered back is illustrated in Christopher Claxton Stevens and Stewart Whittington, 18^th Century English Furniture The Norman Adams Collection , 1985, pl. 4., pp.32, 44, and an overupholstered sofa with identical legs is at Temple Newsam House Leeds illustrated by Christopher Gilbert, Furniture at Temple Newsam House and Lotherton Hall, 1978, vol. II, p. 172, item 328.  A further set of two armchairs and six side chairs was sold in these rooms, October 20, 2006, Property from The Collection of Tony Ingrao, lot 87, these having open pierced backs.

Cf. possibly the same chair, F. Lewis Hinckley, Masterpieces of Queen Anne and Georgian Furniture, 1991, p. 68, fig. 96.