Chippendale Society member and noted London furniture dealer, Ronald Phillips Ltd, have sent photographs of a suite of seat furniture, part of their current stock, which must surely be from the workshop of Thomas Chippendale.
The original owner is not known, but the parallels with documented Chippendale suites in several major collections leave little doubt of its maker.
Interestingly, the back of the settee was reduced in height during or shortly after manufacture. Surface analysis has revealed that the alteration shares the same history of gilding layers as the rest of the settee. Thomas Chippendale jnr performed such an alteration for Harewood House in February 1797: ‘Altering your large Sofa by lowering the Back and making the Seat Shallower, finishing Do in burnish’d Gold and White, double stuffing in fine Linen in the French manner, with a Squab, 3 back Cushions, border’d & 2 Bolsters covering with your Blue Stripe Taberay and finishing with Blue Silk Gimp and Silk Cord £15 12.’
Dimensions
The settee:
Height: 2 ft 10 ½ in; 87.5 cm
Height of seat: 1 ft 3 in; 38 cm
Width: 5 ft 7 ½ in; 171 cm
Depth: 2 ft 9 in; 84 cm
The chairs:
Height: 3 ft ½ in; 93 cm
Height of seat: 1 ft 5 ½ in; 44.5 cm
Width: 2 ft 1 ½ in; 65 cm
Depth: 2 ft 2 in; 66 cm