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A remarkable pair of George III mahogany armchairs attributed to Edward Newman (1692? - 1758), the pierced back splat decorated with very finely carved Chinese and Gothic ornament, enriched throughout with foliate decoration in high relief set against a punched ground. The outward scrolling arms above an upholstered seat supported at the front on elegantly shaped cabriole legs, terminating with richly carved scrolled toes. Possibly originally parcel gilt.
The highly carved ornamentation and use of elm for the seat rails has similarities in detail to the rare Master's chair at Temple Newsam House, attributed to Edward Newman (see plate 71 - Furniture at Temple Newsam House and Lotherton Hall, p 87 vol 1). The detail of the flowers climbing the uprights of the scrolled arms alongside the stylised rocaille decoration on the seat rails on an unpunched ground, are part of this signature work. All these chairs have the unusual and rare use of elm rails rather than the more common beech or oak. The knurl feet are first seen on a design in Thomas Chippendale's 'Director' 1754, plate X5.
Evidence suggests that these chairs have been upholstered three previous times in their history always with girth webbing. There are traces of the first upholstery using square headed tacks and nails, the use of which was abandoned at the turn of the 19th century for the more favoured circular form.
The advent of the rococo brought a relaxation of the strictly formal Palladian styles that had governed the design of English furniture. In turn, craftsmen and designers in England turned to the relative flamboyance of the Gothic and exotic flavour of chinoiserie. Elements of rococo chinoiserie are epitomised in this pair of armchairs with the pagoda-like back rail, supporting the pierced splat with crisply carved scrolling acanthus decoration. The taste for chinoiserie was not in itself new, previously the style had relied on glamorous surface decoration such as japanning and lacquer work. However, the progression developed in the use of Chinese features being incorporated as structural design elements.
Comparative examples :
A pair of armchairs in the manner of William Vile and John Cobb of a similar design in the leg and arm supports were part of a collection of H. L. Joel in 1977 and later Childwick Berry, Hertfordshire in 1978.