Open armchair
possibly Chippendale & Rannie (fl. 1754 - 1766)
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1765 - circa 1770
Materials
Mahogany, oak, damask
Measurements
100.5 x 75 x 79.5 cm
Place of origin
St. Martin's Lane
Collection
Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire
NT 959769.2
Summary
A mahogany open armchair, English, circa 1765 - 70, possibly supplied by either Chippendale & Rannie (fl. 1754 - 1766) or by Thomas Chippendale (fl. 1766 - 1771 when working without a business partner), one of three, NT 959769.2 and .3 mahogany and upholstered in later yellow damask; NT 959769.1 of walnut and upholstered in later crimson damask. The rectangular back and padded seat upholstered in later yellow damask. The open arms with a chamfer to the underside. Raised on four square-section legs, the front stretcher flush with the front legs, the rear stretcher at an angle where the feet begin to rake. --
Full description
Tentatively linked to the purchase of two separate sets of ten chairs and two pairs of matching armchairs, for which Sir Rowland Winn was invoiced in 1766 as follows: - 24th June 1766: '10 Mahogany parlour chairs cover'd with horse hair and double brass nail'd...£12 10s 0d' and '2 Mahogany elbow Chairs to match...£7 0s 0d' - 9th October 1766: '10 mahogany parlour chairs the same as before...£12 10s 0d' and '2 Elbow chairs to match...£7 0s 0d' They are therefore possibly related to a near set of sixteen mahogany and walnut chairs which survive at Nostell Priory [NT 959704.1 - .16], and a further pair of open armchairs [NT 959792.1 - .2]. Also possibly related to sofas NT 959772 and NT 959773, which share the same angled rear stretcher. The surviving accounts contain no other entries which correspond to such a large set of chairs, and it has been noted that 'there is a reasonable possibility that a large remnant of this set remains in the collection.' However, it is always possible that their purchase was recorded in papers which are now lost and the question is by no means straightforward, as some of the chairs are made of walnut, rather than mahogany, and some have grooves or chamfers to the legs which others do not share. (Megan Wheeler, February 2018)
Provenance
Date of acquisition not recorded, but by descent until accepted by HM Treasury in lieu of death duties on the estate of Rowland Winn, 4th Baron Oswald (1916 - 1984), 1986.
Makers and roles
possibly Chippendale & Rannie (fl. 1754 - 1766), cabinetmaker possibly Thomas Chippendale (fl. 1766 - 1771 when operating without a business partner), cabinetmaker
References
Boynton and Goodison, 1968: Lindsay Boynton, and Nicholas Goodison. “Thomas Chippendale at Nostell Priory.” Furniture History 4 (1968): pp.10-61., p. 40 Boynton and Goodison, 1969: Lindsay Boynton and Nicholas Goodison. “The furniture of Thomas Chippendale at Nostell Priory.” Burlington Magazine III June 1969: pp.350-60., p. 359 Gilbert (1978): Christopher Gilbert, The Life & Work of Thomas Chippendale (1978), 2 volumes., Vol. I, pp. 174, 183 - 4 and Vol. II, Figures 133 & 134 Coleridge, 1968: Anthony Coleridge, Chippendale furniture: the work of Thomas Chippendale and his Contemporaries in the Rococo Taste. London: Faber, 1968., Plate 345 K. Bristol, ‘A Tale of Two Sales: Sir Rowland Winn and No.11 St James’s Square, London, 1766-1787’, in History of Retailing and Consumption 2.1 (2016), 9 – 24. West Yorkshire History Centre, WYW 1352/3/3/1/5/3/63.