A GEORGE III WHITE-PAINTED AND PARCEL GILT SERPENTINE SOFA

The present sette, with its patera-enriched frame and palm-wrapped arms, relates to the antique fashion adopted in the 1780s by firms such as Gillows of London and Lancaster under guidance from architects such as James Wyatt (d. 1813), and later popularised by Messrs. A. Hepplewhite & Co.'s The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide, 1788.
A very similar suite of chairs and settees was sold anonymously, Sotheby's London, 16 July 1982, lot 117 and a further pair of chairs was sold by Mrs. Janet Holmes Court, Sotheby's London, 19 February 1993, lot 125.

Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow is one of the most famous of all Irish country houses, built between 1731 and 1740 to designs by Richard Castle for the 1st Viscount Powerscourt. Also renowned for its gardens and demesne, sadly much of the house was destroyed by a disastrous fire in 1974.