A PAIR OF GEORGE III WALNUT AND ASH ARMCHAIRS

In recent years, Peggy and I have bought relatively little antique furniture, as we had acquired over the years most of the things we needed for our homes in New York, Pocantico Hills, and Seal Harbor. Occasionally, however, when we see a piece which we find exceptionally attractive, we are tempted to buy it. That was the case when I visited Mallet's on a trip to London in March of 1988 and saw this pair of armchairs with unusual circular backs. Fortunately, Peggy liked them as much as I did, and we found a good spot for them in the living room at Ringing Point.
D. R.

This pair of arm chairs, with their incurved arm supports and wheel-form splats, shares characteristics with Mendlesham chairs, although the pronounced splats on this pair is unusual. The so-called Mendlesham chair, named after the Suffolk village around which this East Anglian chair-making tradition was centered, is a very distinctive chair design, though there are detailed variations within the group. For a full discussion, see Dr. B. Cotton, The English Regional Chair, Woodbridge, 1990 pages 241-259.