A GEORGE II MAHOGANY LIBRARY ARMCHAIR

This armchair is possibly by William Bradshaw (1728–d. 1775), cabinet maker, upholder and ‘tapissier’, of Greek Street, Soho, London. The distinctive reverse scroll feet are found on a set of four armchairs by the craftsman, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and discussed by Geoffrey Beard in ‘William Bradshaw: Furniture Maker and Tapestry Weaver’, Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 37, 2002, pp. 167-169. Another set of eight related armchairs are at Holkham Hall, Norfolk; these were supplied by Paul Saunders (b. 1722–d.1771) to the 1st Earl of Leicester in 1757. Saunders and his partner George Smith-Bradshaw took possession of William Bradshaw’s workshop in Greek Street in 1755, and at the same time they probably acquired his stock and pattern books. This is borne out by the close similarity of the carved ornamentation on furniture attributed to Bradshaw with that of Saunders. Bradshaw also worked at Holkham for the 1st Earl; in 1742, he received £429 14s for furniture supplied to this mansion.