A PAIR OF GEORGE II MAHOGANY ARMCHAIRS

Paul Saunders (1722-1771) was one of the most important suppliers of fashionable upholstered furniture of the 1750s and 1760s, and held the position of Tapestry Maker to His Majesty George III. Amongst the furniture Saunders supplied to Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (5th creation) for Holkham Hall, Norfolk, between 1755 and 1758 is a group of seat furniture which bear similarities in design to the present pair of chairs. One from this group with very comparable detailing, in particular the fluting of the lower leg and the scroll foot, is illustrated A. Coleridge, 'Some Mid-Georgian Cabinet-Makers at Holkham', Apollo, February 1964, p. 123, fig. 1.

A group of closely related seat furniture attributed to Saunders, with cabochons to the knees and scrolled feet, was supplied to the Earls Spencer for Spencer House, London and Althorp, Northamptonshire (some sold Christie's London, 8 July 2010, lot 1035).