An extraordinary Indian ebony low chair formerly owned by the Dukes of Westminster
Coromandel coast, possibly Masuliptnam, 1680-1700
Overall densely carved with an array of mermaids, birds, fish, mythological figures and floral and vine motifs, the back rail has centrally a parrot (the attribute of Kama, the Hindu god of love) below a scallop shell (an attribute of Aphrodite/Venus) with a fleur-de-lis (a symbol of the Virgin Mary), the shell supported by two small human figures and a pair of mermaids, another European element, but also a representation of the Hindu snake goddess Nagini, with crouching figures as finials, reminiscent of deity figures.
H. 85 x W. 50.5 x D. 45 cm
H. 41.5 cm (height of seat)
An identical chair is illustrated in Het Hollandsche Koloniale Barokmeubel, Dr. V. I. van de Wall, .1939, fig. 26.
The provenance of that chair is given as the Duke of Westminster, Eaton Hall, Cheshire. Before restoration, the present chair had an identical upholstered seat and the same casters as the chair of the Duke of Westminster. Therefore, it seems safe to assume that the present chair’s provenance is also the Duke of Westminster, Eaton Hall in Cheshire. The chair’s seat rail is numbered, and it came from a set of six with the known provenance and same upholstery as the one in Het Hollandsche Koloniale Barokmeubel, presuming it was part of an even larger set
The Duke of Westminster declaring the building open at the Wrexham Art Treasures Exhibition,1876. Two chairs from Eaton Hall, which the Duke of Westminster loaned to the exhibition, can be seen in the image. The chair present is identical to the ones depicted and has the Eaton Hall provenance.
Provenance:
- Probably Strawberry Hill House, Collection of Horace Walpole, 4th Earl
of Orford (1717-97), Twickenham, until 1842 (acquired between 1759 and 1763)
- Probably George Robins, A Catalogue of the Classic Contents of Strawberry Hill collected by Horace Walpole, London, Covent Garden, 13 May 1842, lot 77
- Eaton Hall, Robert Grosvenor, the 1st Marquess of Westminster (1767-1845), Cheshire
- The Dukes of Westminster, by descent (until 1960)
- Arthur Tooth (1828-1900), a London art dealer, thence by descent
Overall densely carved with an array of mermaids, birds, fish, mythological figures and floral and vine motifs, the back rail has centrally a parrot (the attribute of Kama, the Hindu god of love) below a scallop shell (an attribute of Aphrodite/Venus) with a fleur-de-lis (a symbol of the Virgin Mary), the shell supported by two small human figures and a pair of mermaids, another European element, but also a representation of the Hindu snake goddess Nagini, with crouching figures as finials, reminiscent of deity figures.
H. 85 x W. 50.5 x D. 45 cm
H. 41.5 cm (height of seat)
An identical chair is illustrated in Het Hollandsche Koloniale Barokmeubel, Dr. V. I. van de Wall, .1939, fig. 26.
The provenance of that chair is given as the Duke of Westminster, Eaton Hall, Cheshire. Before restoration, the present chair had an identical upholstered seat and the same casters as the chair of the Duke of Westminster. Therefore, it seems safe to assume that the present chair’s provenance is also the Duke of Westminster, Eaton Hall in Cheshire. The chair’s seat rail is numbered, and it came from a set of six with the known provenance and same upholstery as the one in Het Hollandsche Koloniale Barokmeubel, presuming it was part of an even larger set
The Duke of Westminster declaring the building open at the Wrexham Art Treasures Exhibition,1876. Two chairs from Eaton Hall, which the Duke of Westminster loaned to the exhibition, can be seen in the image. The chair present is identical to the ones depicted and has the Eaton Hall provenance.
Provenance:
- Probably Strawberry Hill House, Collection of Horace Walpole, 4th Earl
of Orford (1717-97), Twickenham, until 1842 (acquired between 1759 and 1763)
- Probably George Robins, A Catalogue of the Classic Contents of Strawberry Hill collected by Horace Walpole, London, Covent Garden, 13 May 1842, lot 77
- Eaton Hall, Robert Grosvenor, the 1st Marquess of Westminster (1767-1845), Cheshire
- The Dukes of Westminster, by descent (until 1960)
- Arthur Tooth (1828-1900), a London art dealer, thence by descent
Part of the Indian Ocean collection.
