THE LEOPOLD HIRSCH DINING CHAIRS, English, circa 1750
Height of seat: 18 in; 46 cm
Width: 23 in; 58.5 cm
Depth: 22 in; 56 cm
Further images
A set of ten George II mahogany dining chairs.
Some of the chairs have walnut components which are original. Related chairs were formerly in the collection of Viscount Lever, and other related examples are in the collection at Temple Newsam in Leeds.
Leopold Hirsch originally had sixteen chairs in his collection. Frank Partridge sold sets of ten and six chairs separately, perhaps because of slight differences between the two sets. A set of six side chairs, with minor differences but without doubt from the same workshop, is available with this set, extending it to sixteen chairs in all. It is possible that these six chairs were originally part of the Hirsch set.
An advertisement in Apollo magazine by Frank Partridge of August 1935 shows ten chairs from the set. Interestingly, some chairs are covered with needlework and some chairs are covered with leather perhaps indicating a division.
Provenance
Leopold Hirsch, Esq., 10 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, England, until 1934;
Frank Partridge & Sons Ltd., London, England, 1934;
Private collection, England.
Literature
Percy Macquoid, A History of English Furniture, vol. III, ‘The Age of Mahogany’, 1906, p. 135, fig. 118.
Percy Macquoid and Ralph Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, revised edition, 1954, vol. I, p. 274, fig. 151.
F. Lewis Hinckley, Georgian Furniture and Looking Glasses, 1992, p. 26, illus. 13.
Christopher Gilbert, Furniture at Temple Newsam House and Lotherton Hall, 1998, vol. I, pp. 82-3.
Illustrated:
Christie, Manson & Woods, ‘The Important Collection of English and French Furniture, Porcelain, Objects of Art and Tapestry - The Property of the late Henry Hirsch’, sale catalogue, 7 May 1934, pp. 20-21, lot 46.
Apollo magazine, August 1935, supplement p. V. Ten chairs from the set.
R. W. Symonds, ‘The Migration of the Chippendale Chair’, Connoisseur, May 1955, pp. 228-35, fig. 15; one illustrated.
