THE ELVEDEN HALL CHAIRS, The chairs: English, circa 1750
The needlework: English, circa 1725
Height of seat: 17½ in; 44.5 cm
Width: 18 in; 46 cm
Depth: 18¾ in; 47.5 cm
A pair of George II walnut side chairs.
The design of the chair backs is exceptionally pleasing, and is comparable to work by the London cabinet-making business of Vile & Cobb. The carving is exquisite and the choice of timber superior.
Until the 1980s these chairs formed part of the furnishings of Elveden Hall, Suffolk, England. The house’s most famous owner was the exiled ruler of the Sikh empire, the Maharaja Duleep Singh. The Maharaja, a protégé of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, purchased the estate in 1863 and lived there until 1886.
Provenance
Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel of Elveden, Elveden Hall, Suffolk, England;
George Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle, Viscount Bury, Baron Ashford, Elveden Hall;
William Newton, MP, Elveden Hall;
The Maharaja Duleep Singh, exiled ruler of the Sikh Empire;
Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, Elveden Hall;
By descent to Arthur Edward Rory Guinness, 4th Earl of Iveagh, Elveden Hall;
Mallett & Son Ltd., London, England;
Private collection, USA.
