Untitled
Thomas Phill (d. 1727)
Category
Furniture
Date
12 Feb 1715 (chairs billed for) - circa 1715 (sofa and firescreen)
Materials
Walnut, beech, linen canvas worked with wool and silk, later cotton backing and loose covers, brass studs
Place of origin
The Sign of the Three Golden Chairs, Strand, London
Order this imageCollection
Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire (Accredited Museum)
NT 494468
Summary
A set of walnut-framed furniture, comprising six chairs [NT 494468.1 - .6], a sofa [NT 494468.7] and a firescreen [NT 494468.8], the chairs documented as supplied by Thomas Phill (d. 1727) in 1715, the sofa and firescreen - not listed on that bill and with different upholstery - are thought to have been supplied slightly later.
Provenance
The chairs purchased in 1715; listed in the inventory of 1770 in the 'Two Pair Stairs Room' (now the Tapestry Room), where they remained in 1921 when the room was photographed by Country Life. By descent, until the set sold in 1938; purchased by the National Trust in 1983 with the aid of an anonymous benefactor and a grant in aid from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Makers and roles
Thomas Phill (d. 1727), upholder
References
Jackson-Stops, 1985: Gervase Jackson-Stops, “A set of furniture by Thomas Phill at Canons Ashby.” Furniture History 21 1985: pp.217-18. Bowett 2009, Early Georgian Furniture 1715 - 1740 (2009), Illustrated and discussed pp. 151 - 153 and Plate 4:12. Beard, Geoffrey W. Dictionary of English furniture makers, 1660-1840 1986., p. 694