Royal House
Antiques
We are delighted to offer this important suite of museum quality, George III circa 1760-1765, Thomas Chippendale Chinese Pagoda top dining chairs with the original embroidered seat pads.
Please note the delivery fee listed is just a guide and covers London only for the UK and local Europe for the rest of the world, if you are outside of this area please send me your address and I will provide you with an accurate quote
Where to begin, if you’re looking at this listing then the chances are you know exactly how significant this suite is. Thomas Chippendale was simply put, the most important furniture designer in history.
A similar suite of twelve chairs with one reproduction that were attributed to Chippendale and of the same Georgian period sold at christies three and a half years ago for a little over £400,000, they weren’t as close to the originals as these examples
The chairs are of the period, with the correct back carving and pagoda tops, the timber is the right age, they are the finest example available anywhere in the world today.
I was tempted to have the chair seats reupholstered in a nice period damask however when a friend and the finest restorer I have ever met cast his eyes over them he informed me the embroidery is very very fine and it would be a crime to remove them
The suite has been sympathetically restored to include a clean and French polished, all the frames have been checked and secured if required, these are perfectly usable examples
Literature
Two chairs illustrated in Tabellenbuch Holztechnik, Hamburg, 2013, p. 271.
Exhibited
Ten chairs on loan to Birmingham Museums circa 1985-2010 and exhibited at Aston Hall, Birmingham, where photographed in situ..
Dimensions
Height:- 103cm
Width:- 54cm
Depth:- 53.5cm
Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point.
Lot Essay
These chairs are closely related to those in two recognised Chippendale commissions: Sir Gilbert Heathcote (d. 1785), 3rd Baronet for Normanton Hall, Rutland and William Crichton-Dalrymple, 5th Earl of Dumfries (4th Earl of Stair, 1699-1768) for Dumfries House, Ayrshire.
THE RELATED CHAIRS
The chairs are of identical decoration to the set of two armchairs and ten single chairs, circa 1765, formerly at Normanton Hall (1). In 1759, Sir Gilbert Heathcote (d. 1785), 3rd Baronet, succeeded to the vast inheritance established by his grandfather, also Gilbert, 1st Baronet (1652-1733), who was reputed to be ‘the richest commoner in England’ (2). The 3rd Baronet employed both Chippendale Senior and his son, Chippendale Junior, in the furnishing of his Palladian mansion, Normanton Hall in Rutland, and his London houses, 29 Grosvenor Square, London and Browne's House at North End, Fulham. Surviving Chippendale accounts, although incomplete, show that the firm was working periodically for members of the Heathcote family from 1768 to 1821. Most of the furniture listed in these accounts was intended for Browne’s House, although after 1798 when the family relinquished this residence some of the furniture was moved to Normanton Hall. The latter was sold in 1924, and any furniture not included in the Normanton Hall sale was taken to the Earl of Ancaster’s seat at Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincolnshire. Chippendale’s earliest invoice for Sir Gilbert Heathcote records the acquisition in 1768 of ‘6 India Back and arm chairs Japand to imitate the Bamboe’, signifying how the family embraced the highly fashionable chinoiserie taste. Although the Normanton chairs cannot be conclusively identified in the extant Chippendale accounts, their form and ornamentation led Christopher Gilbert to suggest that they were possibly by Chippendale (3).
The set of four mahogany chairs at Dumfries House have nearly-identical pagoda-form cresting rails and identical terminals but differ in the arrangement of the 'Chinese' paling in the backs and side panels. Although no documentary evidence for the Dumfries chairs survives, in their execution and sophisticated carving of the toprails, they are extremely close to Chippendale’s hand.
Another near-set of closely related chairs is at Saltram House, Devon, where Chippendale worked between 1771-2; these dates are based on payments in John Parker's cash account book, and probably do not reflect a true picture of the entire commission as Parker often paid tradesmen by banker's draft (4). Comprising two armchairs and seven single chairs, this set, circa 1765, is made of padouk, and has been described by the National Trust as ‘Chinese Export’ (5). The set was returned to Saltram in 1951 having been accepted by H.M. Treasury in lieu of full payment of Death Duty from the Executors of Edmund Robert Parker, 4th Earl of Morley (1877-1951). Some of the chairs are currently on display in ‘The Chinese Chippendale Bedroom’.
A further set of four padouk chairs of the Saltram pattern was almost certainly at Kenwood House, London; some of these are recorded in 18th century inventories drawn up by Lord Mansfield. This set was removed to Scone Palace, Perth, prior to the auction at Kenwood in 1922, and subsequently sold from ‘Scone Palace and Blairquhan: The Selected Contents of Two Great Scottish Houses’, Christie’s, London, 24 May 2007, lot 298.
Another pair of padouk chairs of this model sold ‘The Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller’, Christie’s, New York, 10 May 2018, lot 647 ($193,750 inc. premium).
THE DESIGN
Conceived in the Chinese manner expounded by William and John Halfpenny in Rural Architecture in the Chinese Taste (1752), and Sir William Chambers in his Designs of Chinese Buildings, Furniture, Dresses, Machines and Utensils (1757), the pattern for this set of ‘Pagoda’ chairs relates to nine designs for ‘Chinese Chairs’ in the 1st edition of Chippendale’s Director (1754); the cabinet-maker describes these designs thus:
Plates XXIII, XXIV and XXV are nine Chairs in the present Chinese manner, which I hope will improve that taste, or manner of work; it having yet never arrived to any perfection; doubtless it might be lost without feeling its beauty: as it admits of the greatest variety, I think it the most useful of any other. The sizes are all specified on the designs. The three last (No. XXV.) I hope will be well received, as there has been none like them yet made.
The Georgian period witnessed the proliferation of such railed and pagoda-crested chairs in both the ‘picturesque’ Chinese tea pavilions of landscaped parks as well as in fashionable apartments hung with ‘India’ paper. The geometric ‘Chinese’ feet of these chairs are also found on a set of pedestals, 1774, originally japanned green and gold, supplied to Harewood House, and also on a bureau dressing table from Paxton House, Berwickshire (6).
AYKLEY HEADS HOUSE, CO. DURHAM
The Dixon and Johnson families were united in 1749 by the marriage of Christopher Johnson (1718-87) and Tabitha Dixon, youngest daughter of George Dixon of Aykley Heads, and heiress to her brother John. Thus, the Aykley Heads estate passed through the female line to Tabitha’s son, Francis Johnson (1757-1851), and subsequently to his son, Francis Dixon Johnson (1803-1867); in 1929, the Dixon-Johnson family moved to Middle Ord, Northumberland. The descent of the family name has taken both forms, as Johnson and Dixon-Johnson, the latter being formally taken in the later nineteenth century (although still appearing in unhyphenated form). As well as the legal profession and land in Co. Durham, the family acquired coal-mining interests.
(1) C. Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, Leeds, 1978, vol. II, p. 101, fig. 167.
(2) Ibid., vol. I, p. 248.
(3) Ibid., p. 249.
(4) Ibid., p. 257.
(5) C. Johnson, Saltram: National Trust Guide Book, revised 2005, p. 28; NT 871346.1-5 (single chairs); NT 871346.6-7 (armchairs).
(6) Gilbert, op. cit., vol. II, p. 208, fig. 380; p. 228, fig. 415. The Paxton bureau dressing table sold, Christie’s, London, 14 May 2003, lot 140 (£77,675 inc. premium), and later, Sotheby’s, London, 10 November 2015, lot 123.
ABOUT US
Royal House
Antiques is a privately owned family ran business founded in Wimbledon SW19 and
now based in Pulborough RH20. We specialise in finding, restoring very fine
luxury antique leather seating, along with every single other type of antique
ranging from the 16th century to the 20th century. We
also stock a number of designer brands such as Fritz Hansen, Ralph Lauren,
Cavalli, Charles & Ray Eames, Vitra, David Linley, Rolex, Tiffany, Jager Le
Coulter and so on
PAYMENTS
We accept
payment via Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash, Ethereum, Bacs, Chaps, PayPal or Card, we
would kindly ask that all items are paid for within 48 hours and collected
within 7 working days, we can hold all paid items for 14 days free of charge,
there after a £20 a week storage fee will apply. We have long term storage
which is very economically priced, we are happy to hold stock for as long as
needed providing it is arranged prior to the purchase
If sold
items aren’t collected within three months and no arrangements have been made
for long term storage you will forfeit the item and payment
CONDITION
Please view
the very detailed pictures as they form part of the description pertaining
to the condition. Please also ask any questions before you bid and not
after, all of our items are sold as seen and as listed
Royal House
Antiques cannot be held liable for any independent assumptions made regarding
the items we sell, if you are unsure on any point, please feel free to ask for
clarity
Please note
vintage period and original items such as leather seating will always have
natural patina in the form of creasing and wear, we recommend annual waxing to
ensure no moisture is lost, also hand dyed leather is not recommended to sit in
direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time as it will dry out and fade
DELIVERY OR
COLLECTION
This item is
available for collection from our Pulborough warehouses RH20-1DF by appointment
only, alternatively we can have it delivered nationwide to include Scotland,
Wales and Ireland for a fee
Please
contact me via email, alternatively my contact information is under the
business seller section of the listing, with your postcode for a delivery
quotation, as mentioned above the fee listed covers with the M25 for the UK,
for international deliveries the amount listed covers local Europe only so
parts of Belgium and France
Please be
sure to include which item you would like to buy as the price is determined on
size and distance, if you would like more than one piece of furniture the
courier offers a substantial discount on the second and third item, for
international shipping please view the below information
COURIER, LARGE
ITEMS ONLY THAT CAN’T BE POSTED
We can
arrange delivery nationwide, mostly with our nominated couriers, for Europe we
use one reasonably priced professional company that we trust, for the rest of
the world we use international shippers that can send any size item crated via
air freight within 7-14 days after crating or soft packed and container shipped
via sea freight within 30-60 days. The time frames outlined are guides only, non-domestic
shipping is almost entirely governed by the airlines, sea freight loading times
and custom clearances
Whomever
delivers will always require help on the larger items to unload, the price you
will be quoted will always be based on this assumption, if this is not possible,
please let us know as it will affect the price to send a two-person team
Delivery is
to the ground floor only, again if you need help upstairs or in flats etc
that's absolutely not a problem, the couriers charge £10-£20 per flight per man
per item, if you have a working elevator then naturally there’s no additional
fee
All courier
fees are paid by yourself directly to the courier company, the contract for
delivery is between yourselves the client and whichever courier you chose from
those available I’m happy to accommodate your own courier after a cleared
payment has been received, they need to book in a collection time with at least
24 hours notice, all collections must be made within 14 working days of the
close of the sale unless agreed by prior arrangement
IMPORT DUTY
Most
countries charge some kind of import duty however almost all of our items won’t
incur any charges as the items are exempt from tax due to the age and materials
used
For European
deliveries the price you will be quoted will include all clearance
documentation and any customs charges so there won’t be any additional fees
For
international deliveries such as the United States there can be some import
duty to pay and or a clearance fee, I would estimate that 99% of all deliveries
clear customs without being stopped for either
All duties
are the responsibility of the purchaser who is the importer, they can’t be
covered by the seller or shipping agent or factored in with additional
retrospective discounts
RETURNS
Royal House
Antiques offers a no quibble return policy if the item is not as described, if
there are any issues with the piece you will be refunded in full once the item
has been returned and inspected within 14 days, alternatively if there is a
small issue, we can discuss finding a mutual resolution that makes all parties
happy
We don’t
offer a sale on approval service which means you can purchase the item, have it
delivered and if you simply don’t like it, return it, this comes under change
of mind or doesn’t fit. There is a lot of time, money and work involved in
transporting goods around the world, the costs incurred can be vast so my
advice would be if you are unsure on a piece please ask as many questions as
you like to make sure you understand everything before you buy, if you are
still unsure then please either arrange a viewing in person or if that’s not
possible then don’t buy from an online retailer, perhaps look for a local
gallery instead