A MATCHED SET OF FOUR REGENCY SIMULATED ROSEWOOD AND PARCEL-GILT ARMCHAIRS

The decoration is inspired by the drawings of the celebrated connoisseur Thomas Hope (d.1831), whose Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, published in 1807, promoted designs drawn from the ancient civilisations of Egypt, Greece and Rome. Such designs were popularised by George Smith in his Collection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, 1806.

Closely related chairs were in the collection of the playwright Edward Knoblock (d. 1945), who was prominent among buyers at the 1917 sale of Deepdene, Surrey, the country home descended from Thomas Hope. This sale was the touchstone for a revival of interest in the Regency period and Knoblock established himself as one of the earliest and most influential collectors in the field. He formed an important collection first at The Beach House, Worthing, and later at 11 Montagu Place, London, where chairs similar to the present lot were photographed for Christopher Hussey, 'Four Regency Houses', Country Life, 11 April 1931, pp.450-456, figs. 4 and 7.