Stock Code: 2411

Description: An important pair of George II mahogany hall chairs, made for Sir Thomas Bootle for the banqueting hall at Lathom House, Lancashire. They retain excellent original colour and patina. The chairs of sgabello form, the shaped backs each marquetry inlaid with Bootle’s armorial crest, depicting a lion wreathed with foliage. The solid mahogany shaped dished seat and shaped and dished solid front supports.

Further Information: A sgabello is an Italian term for a specific type of backstool or moveable seat furniture typical of the Italian Renaissance. The term chair (sedia) usually signified an armchair, a seat of some hieratic importance. Italian Sgabelli are generally made out of walnut and consist of a thin plank or panelled back and an octagonal seat, supported on shaped plank supports, strengthened by a stretcher, which may be turned. This seat would often be placed in hallways, and was often carved with a family’s imprese or emblem drawn from its coat-of-arms. It was not intended for lounging in comfort. English seats of this period (like the pair here) often followed this classical Italian shape.

William Masters was a cabinet maker and ran a flourishing business at “The Golden Fleece”, Coventry Street, London. His commissions included the supply of furniture for Blair Castle in Perthshire. Sir Thomas Bootle (d1753) was chancellor to Frederick, Prince of Wales.

One of these chairs is illustrated in a book by Lucy Wood - "The Upholstered Furniture in the Lady Lever art Gallery"

Condition: Excellent. Possible minor old restorations, waxing.

Country of Origin: England

Origin/Age: English, George II, circa 1740.

Provenance: Made for Sir Thomas Bootle, Lathom House, Lancashire almost certainly by William Masters. Exhibited in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, latterly private collection UK.

Maker: Attributed to William Masters

Dimensions: Height 41.50 inches (105.41cm) Width 18.00 inches (45.72cm) Depth 19.00 inches (48.26cm)