A PAIR OF GEORGE III MAHOGANY ARMCHAIRS

This crisply-carved pair of chairs has a distinctive arm terminal, in the form of lotus leaves encircling a ball, that is characteristic of John Linnell's work in the 1770s; although it was recorded as late as 1795 for the seat furniture at Ammerdown House, Frome, Somerset. This design appears in a drawing of c. 1770-75, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (see H. Heyward and P. Kirkham, William and John Linnell, London, 1980, vol. II, p. 45, fig. 87) and on a suite of armchairs supplied to Robert Child at Osterley Park, recorded in a 1782 inventory in the breakfast room (H. Heyward and P. Kirkham, William and John Linnell, London, 1980, vol. I, p. 118).