An Assembled Pair of Late Victorian Mahogany Windsor Chairs by Birch & Co, late 19th Century

The first:

Christie's London, 6 April 2000, lot 278

The second:

Christie's London, 29 April 2010, lot 246

Where acquired by Aso O. Tavitian.

M. Harding-Hill, Windsor Chairs: An Illustrated Celebration, Woodbridge 2003, pp.149-151.

Atypically for Windsor chairs, the top rail of this model is not curved or bow-shaped, but draws on Ionic architectural capitals with a ‘comb’ rail. The combination with the twisted and reeded elements gives an urbane Regency flair to a form of chair that is more vernacular in its origins. It is pictured and discussed in depth in Michael Harding-Hill’s book on Windsor chairs, where he also reproduces the Birch & Co cost book and accompanying photograph of this chair model. Birch & Company was a family firm that dated back to the 1840s, and specialised in luxurious variations of vernacular furniture like rush- or cane-seated chairs and the classic Windsor model, often in exotic imported timbers. These appealed to those decorating in the new taste that came in the wake of the Arts and Crafts movement, and the chairs were retailed at major London department stores including Liberty’s. The company survived until 1954, when it was bought by the rival High Wycombe firm E. Gomme Ltd.