Pair of Regency Hall Chairs, attributed to Banting and France

A fine pair of mahogany hall chairs of the Regency period, attributed to Thomas Banting and William France.

England, circa 1815.

Why we like them

These fine hall chairs have a particularly elegant and sophisticated scrolled cartouche design of the backs, with the finest carving, highlighted with ebonising. Also of great colour and natural patination, these chairs are highly decorative and rare.

Attribution

The distinctive backs of these chairs are identical to those of a set of six oak hall chairs, supplied by Banting, France & Co. of London, to Lord Hervey, the 5th Earl of Bristol, in circa 1829 and are at Ickworth House, Suffolk. The present chairs feature a more sophisticated design of the seats and legs, more Georgian in its appearance, which might indicate an earlier date of manufacture.

Banting and France were Royal cabinetmakers and held Royal Warrants in the reigns of George III, George IV, William IV and Queen Victoria.