W.R. Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd
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Walnut Dining chairs fine set of Twelve ( 1850 )
| Artists: |
HOLLAND & SON Also known as HOLLAND & SONS (1861-1968) |
| Dimensions: | 53.00cm wide 88.00cm high 55.00cm deep (20.87 inches wide 34.65 inches high 21.65 inches deep) |
| Description: |
A superb quality and extremely rare set of TWELVE Mid-19th. Century Solid Walnut Chairs,by Holland & Sons, the scrolled upholstered backs with hand hold scoops, fine detail to the uprights and panelled stiles above a moulded edge, the legs with carved demi-lune paterae above reeded tapered sections and carved daisy paterae, the front legs terminating in spade feet with brass cups and casters, the back legs swept outwards and terminating in a scrolled foot. The legs are united by a stretcher every part of which has a shaped moulded edge. Ca 1858/78
All these chairs are stamped with makers' names: 4 stamped W Vardill, 3 stamped W Bryson, 2 stamped W Miles, 2 stamped HW, and 1 stamped W Miles and D Courtney |
| Provenance: |
Research shows that these were manufactured by the above makers for Holland and Sons All the comparable chairs made for Dorchester House etc. were made by Holland & Sons and stamped W. Bryson. G.Bryson also supplied furniture for the Palace of Westminster and was W. Bryson’s father. Both are thought to have worked for Holland and Sons.
Holland and Sons of London rose from their origins in the early 19th. Century to become by the middle years of the century a rival to Gillows of Lancaster and one of the greatest of English furniture makers. Recorded as early as 1815 as Taprell and Holland, by 1843 under the auspices of William Holland, a relative of the famous Regency architect Henry Holland, they joined with Thomas Dowbiggin of 23 Mount Street who had made the state throne for Queen Victoria’s coronation. They were also successful undertakers and were responsible for the Duke of Wellington’s funeral. Under William Holland they became cabinetmakers and upholsterers to the Queen, their first commission being for Osborne House in 1845. They received the Royal Warrant in 1846 and continued to supply furniture for Osborne until 1869 gaining further commissions for Windsor Castle, Balmoral and Marlborough House. Hollands also worked for other leading institutions including the Reform and Athanaeum clubs, the British Museum and the Royal Academy. Along with Gillows, they shared the commission for the new Houses of Parliament.There are several pieces of seating furniture still at Westminster supplied by Holland & Sons and stamped W.Bryson. They participated in many of the important International Exhibitions and indeed their prize winning chimney-piece and bookcase in Cinquecento taste exhibited in the 1851 Great Exhibition was still at Flintham Hall in Nottingham as recently as 1977. They also showed in 1862 in London again,Vienna in 1873 and Paris in both 1867 and 1872. The Hollands day books are now housed in the National Archive of Art and Design in London. Lit:See: Christie’s Sale, 4th. October 2001 lot 24 and Sotheby’s Sale Friday 15th. November 1996 Lot 114. See also research commissioned by W.R.Harvey & Co.(Antiques) Ltd 2002 to 2004 and executed by Christina Anderson. See also “Furniture History” The Annual Journal of The Furniture History Society,Volume XLI for 2005, Pages 217 –230 “ W.Bryson and the firm of Holland & Sons” |
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