About This Object
A superb George III Chippendale period mahogany armchair, attributed to William and John Linnell.
Circa 1760.
Why we like it
A splendid example of a quintessential Chippendale period English chair. Great colour and patination, wonderfully intricate design and superb quality of carving.
The design of this parlour chair can be firmly attributed to the Berkeley Square cabinet-maker John Linnell (d. 1796), the author of A New Book of Ornaments (1760). Linnell's similar design surviving at the Victoria and Albert Museum relates to chairs he supplied around 1760–67 to Robert Child for Upton House, Oxfordshire, and also to William Drake for Shardeloes, Buckinghamshire. A set of chairs with virtually identical backs was sold Christie's New York, 18 October 2001, lot 32.
John Linnell (1729-1796) was the son of the famous furniture maker William Linnell (ca. 1703-1763). Unlike most furniture makers, John Linnell gained a design education at the St. Martin's Lane Academy, which was founded by William Hogarth in 1735. In 1750, aged 21, he joined his father's firm as a designer. On his father's death in 1763, John Linnell took over the family firm. During his lifetime John Linnell produced high quality furniture, which rivalled that of other leading furniture makers such as Thomas Chippendale, John Cobb and William Ince and John Mayhew.
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