Chair
possibly Giles Grendey (1693 - 1780)
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1750
Materials
Mahogany, beech, upholstery, springs, cut velvet, gilt brass
Measurements
99 x 67 x 70 cm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire
NT 959712.14
Summary
A side chair, one of a set of fourteen pieces of mahogany and upholstered seat furniture, English, circa 1750, comprising thirteen standard chairs and a sofa [NT 959712.12], possibly by Giles Grendey (1693 - 1780). The padded back and seat upholstered in later burgundy cut & uncut wool velvet, the top edges and sides trimmed with braid, C. late 19th C. The seat rails applied and overlaid with fretwork decoration alternating roundels and lozenges. The four cabriole legs carved with acanthus, ribands and rocaille and on hairy claw and ball feet. The legs to this set of very fine seat furniture are strikingly similar to those of a set illustrated in Christopher Gilbert's 'Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture', which bear the label of the well-known London maker, Giles Grendey. The set may have been intended for the 4th Baronet's unfinished Saloon, designed by James Paine, as Chippendale's correspondence suggests that there was an existing set of furniture for the room in the 1770s. However, the first definitive reference to these chairs at Nostell Priory was made in the early 20th century as a 'Mahogany Upholstered Chair...Property of Lord St Oswald', under the heading 'Chairs of the School of Chippendale'.
Provenance
Possibly purchased by Sir Rowland Winn, 4th Baronet (1706 - 1765), thence by descent at Nostell Priory. Purchased by the National Trust in 2002 with the assistance of the National Heritage Memoria] Fund (NHMF), the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), and the National Art Collections Fund (NACF).
Makers and roles
possibly Giles Grendey (1693 - 1780), cabinetmaker
References
Macquoid, Percy, d.1905. history of English furniture / 1904-1908.