A PAIR OF GEORGE III MAHOGANY HALL CHAIRS ATTRIBUTED TO INCE & MAYHEW, CIRCA 1790 Each with a 'spider web' back above the dished seat with a suede upholstered squab cushion, turned tapering supports united by stretchers each 94cm high Provenance: Christie's, London, 7 July 1994, Lot 53 Comparative Literature: H. Roberts, C. Cator, Industry and ingenuity : the partnership of William Ince and John Mayhew, London, 2022. H. Avray Tipping, 'Peper Harrow, Surrey, The seat of The Earl of Midleton', Country Life, 26 December 1925, fig. 6. This pair of chairs is attributed to Ince & Mayhew based on their similarity to a set of twelve chairs by the partnership, painted in imitation of silver wood and rosewood, made for the Earl of Coventry in 1778 at a cost of £21 12s, the bill describing the chairs as 'Umbrella Back Chairs' (Roberts, Cator, pp. 68-69, 352, fig. 289). Other comparable chairs by Ince & Mayhew include three satinwood armchairs with painted decoration made for Warren Hastings in c. 1790, now at Dalmeny House, Scotland (ibid., p. 367, fig. 336). A single chair photographed by Country Life in 1925 in the entrance hall at Peper Harrow, Surrey, is also related. Peper Harrow was almost certainly supplied with furniture by Ince & Mayhew, under the direction of the architect, William Chambers - mahogany hall chairs with oval fluted backs from the mansion are virtually identical to a painted set made for Viscount Palmerston for the hall at Broadlands in c. 1774 (ibid., p. 355, figs. 300, 299). Another related pair of drawing-room chairs with 'medallion backs' bearing the armorial of the Mytton family, was probably supplied by the partnership in c. 1780 to John Mytton II, Halston Hall, Shropshire, sold Christie's, London, 22 November 2007, lot 636 Condition Report: Marks, knocks, scratches, abrasions consistent with age and use, old splits and cracks, old chips and losses, Each with removable cushion, there are slats beneath this, almost certainly always designed to be covered, the cushion covers are recent and it is not possible to say if he wadding within is old or original - it appears to crunch so is likely hair and not foam. the covers do have signs of age and use in a domestic setting with some surface marks, Professional repairs and restorations to the rails, especially where they meet the legs, some re-railing in this area too, old splits and cracks, and signs of joints opening - however all solid and stable.Please see additional images for visual reference to condition Condition Report Disclaimer
