A PAIR OF GEORGE III GILTWOOD ARMCHAIRS

This pair of chairs formed part of a suite of settees and armchairs commissioned by Sir Willam Lee, 4th Bt. (d. 1799) in the early 1760s for his drawing room at Hartwell House, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, which was designed by the architect Henry Keene (d. 1776), Surveyor of Westminster Abbey. Bearing many stylistic similarities to Louis XV seat furniture, the serpentine frames with scalloped tops to the seat rails and scrolling acanthus ornamentation relate closely to designs for 'French Chairs' reproduced in plates XXII and XXIII in the 1763 edition of Thomas Chippendale's (d. 1779) widely circulated pattern-book, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director. Likewise, the delicately outward scrolling arms of these chairs can be seen in plate XXX. Representative of the fashion for the rococo in England during this time, these chairs also reflect the importance placed on the harmony between the interior architectural decoration of a room and its furnishings. When considered in the context of the interiors at Hartwell House, the scallop shells and Roman acanthus foliage adorning the knees correspond to the drawing room's richly stuccoed cornice, serving to enhance the classical motifs which would have been understood and appreciated by the 18th century viewer.