A set of six giltwood side chairs (c.1773) made by Thomas Chippendale for the Saloon at Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire, will be offered for sale by Dreweatts in the upcoming auction, Town and Country: The Collections from Cairness House and a Historic Townhouse on Wimpole Street, on 31 January 2024 (Lot 121).
Each chair features an oval back with guilloche moulding and a frieze decorated with paterae and bell flowers on reeded tapering legs. Each chair measures: 91cm high, 56cm wide, 54cm deep. Further details can be found here.
Thomas Chippendale’s commission for Viscount Melbourne at Brocket Hall was delivered in a concentrated period from about 1772 until 1775, alongside furniture made for Melbourne House, Piccadilly (now Albany), which Melbourne bought from Lord Holland in 1771. And while both commissions were not as large or as lengthy as those for his major Yorkshire patrons, the seat furniture he made for the Drawing Room at Brocket originally comprised twelve armchairs, twelve side chairs and four settees, which is the largest salon suite Chippendale provided for any client.