A Pair of George IV Brass-Inlaid Simulated Rosewood and Caned Bergères, Circa 1825

Probably Angela Burdett-Coutts (1814-1906), London, thence by descent;

Christie's London, 29 April 2010, lot 173;

Where acquired by Aso O. Tavitian.

These elegant bergeres were most probably in the collection of Angela Burdett-Coutts in her Piccadilly Mansion at 1 Stratton Street, which she inherited in 1822 from her grandfather Thomas Coutts, founder of the bank Coutts & Co. in 1778.

The daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet, and Sophia Coutts, in 1837 Angela became the wealthiest woman in England when she inherited her grandfather's fortune of nearly three million pounds via his wife Harriott Mellon. Using her wealth not only to create a significant collection of art works retained both at Stratton Street and another inherited property The Holly Lodge in Highgate, she was also one of the most celebrated philanthropists of her day, leading to her ennoblement as Baroness Burdett-Coutts in 1871.