Master Art

An extremely rare pair of mid 18th century carved mahogany child’s chairs in the chinoiserie style, of wonderful colour and patination, each having a shaped pagoda crested top above a pierced vase shaped splat of interlaced ribbon and scrolls with tasselled drapery above, and flanked by leaf carved stiles with pagoda tops, having a drop-in seat upholstered in 18th century English floral needlework within the flower and ribbon carved seat; on cabriole legs with acanthus clasp to the knees, terminating in claw and ball feet to the front and splay square chamfered legs to the rear.

Note: The scale of these wonderful chairs is highly unusual. The legs are disproportionately short, and the backs are almost of full chair height. No other chairs of these distinctive proportions have come to light. A set of six side chairs of the same design, but of full size, and without doubt by the same maker, are illustrated in volume II of M. Harris’s three-volume sale catalogue. The child’s chairs may have been part of the same suite.