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Lot 93THE COLLECTION OF ADOLPHUS ANDREWS, JR. AND EMILY TAYLOR ANDREWS
A SET OF FOUR AUSTRIAN WALNUT ARMCHAIRS
POSSIBLY VIENNA, THREE CIRCA 1785, ONE OF A LATER DATE
Closed18 June 2024
Estimate
USD 10,000–20,000
More Information
Specialist note
These extraordinary armchairs combine a remarkable range of exotic and classical motifs, ranging from confronting à l'antique griffins to Apollo's sunburst masks, extravagant acanthi terminating in eagle heads and Egyptian ladies similarly emerging mysteriously from foliage, all united by delicate treillage borders. Although no definite design source has been discovered for these sculptural tours de force, they certainly reflect the influence of the avant-garde dessinateur of the goût étrusque, Jean-Demosthène Dugourc (1749-1825). Dugourc produced designs for a series of armchairs with similarly exotic caryatid supports for projects he was working on for the Imperial court in Russia in 1784, see 'De Dugourc à Pernon', Exhibition Catalogue, Lyon, 1991, pp. 31 and 75.
This model has, on occasion, previously been attributed to northern Italy, whereas more recent research and other examples appearing on the market suggest origins from Austria or Germany. A number of armchairs of virtually the same design in giltwood are known. These include an example currently at the Österreiches Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, attributed to a Viennese workshop. Moreover, many of the known giltwood examples to appear on the market, such as a near pair sold Christie’s, New York, 18 May 2006, lot 823, are known to have German or Austrian provenance.
A suite, comprising four fauteuils, a canapé, two benches and nine chairs, reputedly from the collection of Count Leopold Berchtold (1863-1942), foreign minister of Austria-Hungary, was sold at the Dorotheum, Vienna, 2 December 1966, lot 982. In addition, the aforementioned fauteuil in the collection of the Vienna museum, is examined in an article by scholar Christian Witt-Dörring, 'Empire oder höfisches Biedermeier', Kunst und Antiquitaten, November 1991, p. 19. A suite of four fauteuils and a canapé, probably from the Dorotheum set, was sold anonymously at Millon & Robert, Paris, 3 April 1995, lot 208; while a further fauteuil, described as German, is illustrated in Carlton Hobbs, Catalogue, 1993, no. 4, cat. 20. Most recently, a single fauteuil from the collection of Ezra and Cecile Zilkha was sold Sotheby's, New York, 20 November 2020, lot 126 ($44,100), and two pairs of armchair possibly from the abovementioned suite offered Christie's, New York, 19 April 2023, lots 478 and 479 ($63,000 each pair, sold post-sale). A polychrome-decorated set of a sofa and two armchairs of essentially the same design was sold from the estate of Mrs. Robert Lehman, Sotheby’s, New York, 18 November 2010, lot 40. The export stamp from the Museum of Decorative Arts in Budapest found on the underside of these chairs further suggests that these fauteuils come from an Austro-Hungarian private collection and were manufactured in a Viennese workshop.
This model has, on occasion, previously been attributed to northern Italy, whereas more recent research and other examples appearing on the market suggest origins from Austria or Germany. A number of armchairs of virtually the same design in giltwood are known. These include an example currently at the Österreiches Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, attributed to a Viennese workshop. Moreover, many of the known giltwood examples to appear on the market, such as a near pair sold Christie’s, New York, 18 May 2006, lot 823, are known to have German or Austrian provenance.
A suite, comprising four fauteuils, a canapé, two benches and nine chairs, reputedly from the collection of Count Leopold Berchtold (1863-1942), foreign minister of Austria-Hungary, was sold at the Dorotheum, Vienna, 2 December 1966, lot 982. In addition, the aforementioned fauteuil in the collection of the Vienna museum, is examined in an article by scholar Christian Witt-Dörring, 'Empire oder höfisches Biedermeier', Kunst und Antiquitaten, November 1991, p. 19. A suite of four fauteuils and a canapé, probably from the Dorotheum set, was sold anonymously at Millon & Robert, Paris, 3 April 1995, lot 208; while a further fauteuil, described as German, is illustrated in Carlton Hobbs, Catalogue, 1993, no. 4, cat. 20. Most recently, a single fauteuil from the collection of Ezra and Cecile Zilkha was sold Sotheby's, New York, 20 November 2020, lot 126 ($44,100), and two pairs of armchair possibly from the abovementioned suite offered Christie's, New York, 19 April 2023, lots 478 and 479 ($63,000 each pair, sold post-sale). A polychrome-decorated set of a sofa and two armchairs of essentially the same design was sold from the estate of Mrs. Robert Lehman, Sotheby’s, New York, 18 November 2010, lot 40. The export stamp from the Museum of Decorative Arts in Budapest found on the underside of these chairs further suggests that these fauteuils come from an Austro-Hungarian private collection and were manufactured in a Viennese workshop.