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Lot Essay
THE DESIGN
This pair of chairs are in the genre pittoresque or French rococo style, which was disseminated beyond France by Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754), a leading designer and originator, together with Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier and Jacques de La Joue. Pineau’s books were widely available in English provinces and the American colonies and he seems to have enjoyed a good reputation in London. His obituary in the London Advertiser and Literary Gazette, 6 March 1751 noted 'his great Integrity...in reducing the exorbitant Bills of such Workmen, who endeavored to impose upon their Employers’. Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779) who was certainly aware of Pineau’s publications, further popularized the taste in his seminal pattern book, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 1754-1762. These chairs correspond to a design in the book (3rd ed., pl. XXII) titled ‘French Chairs’.
ELVASTON CASTLE
Elvaston Castle has been in the Stanhope family from the 16th century. The successive Earls of Harrington devoted themselves to a series of rebuilding and refurnishing, following the lead of William Stanhope, who was created first Earl in 1742. These chairs are most likely to have been commissioned for Elvaston Castle by William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington (d.1799) soon after his marriage in 1746 to Lady Caroline Fitzroy. The presence of batten-carrying holes to the underside of the chairs indicates they were probably made in London for a country house. The chairs’ delicate carving corresponds to that on other pieces sold from Elvaston in the 1963 sale, including a pair of console tables (lot 176), oval pier glasses (lot 147), and a pair of chandeliers (lot 177).
This pair of chairs are in the genre pittoresque or French rococo style, which was disseminated beyond France by Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754), a leading designer and originator, together with Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier and Jacques de La Joue. Pineau’s books were widely available in English provinces and the American colonies and he seems to have enjoyed a good reputation in London. His obituary in the London Advertiser and Literary Gazette, 6 March 1751 noted 'his great Integrity...in reducing the exorbitant Bills of such Workmen, who endeavored to impose upon their Employers’. Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779) who was certainly aware of Pineau’s publications, further popularized the taste in his seminal pattern book, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 1754-1762. These chairs correspond to a design in the book (3rd ed., pl. XXII) titled ‘French Chairs’.
ELVASTON CASTLE
Elvaston Castle has been in the Stanhope family from the 16th century. The successive Earls of Harrington devoted themselves to a series of rebuilding and refurnishing, following the lead of William Stanhope, who was created first Earl in 1742. These chairs are most likely to have been commissioned for Elvaston Castle by William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington (d.1799) soon after his marriage in 1746 to Lady Caroline Fitzroy. The presence of batten-carrying holes to the underside of the chairs indicates they were probably made in London for a country house. The chairs’ delicate carving corresponds to that on other pieces sold from Elvaston in the 1963 sale, including a pair of console tables (lot 176), oval pier glasses (lot 147), and a pair of chandeliers (lot 177).