An unusual pair of mahogany open armchairs of the George III Chippendale period, handsomely reupholstered in sumptuous John Boyd Textiles green and black striped horsehair fabric.

England, circa 1770.

Why we like them

The sheer simplicity and perfection of their form relate these chairs to Kaare Klint's iconic 'Red Chair' model 4751, designed for the Danish Museum of Art and Design’s lecture room, Copenhagen, in 1927. The Danish celebrity architect, who was known to admire English furniture design from the Georgian era, was certainly inspired by such minimalist, robust and elegant chairs, of which these are a fine example.

These unusual and fine quality armchairs, with their deeply curved seats, relate to the typical Scottish 'Cockpen' design, adapted to a more austere Gothick style. Also of great colour and natural patination, these chairs are highly decorative and rare.

Provenance

One of these or an identical armchair can be seen on a circa 1910 photograph of a dining room at Wingerworth Hall, Derbyshire, an English baroque countryhouse, which was the seat of the Hunlocke family. The house was demolished in early 1920's with its contents auctioned off; one of the rooms was sold to the St Louis Museum of Art, Missouri.