ATTRIBUTED TO GILES GRENDEY, CIRCA 1745

This armchair as well as the subesequent lot can be attributed to the workshop of cabinet-maker Giles Grendey (d.1780) of St. John's Square, Clerkenwell, London based on closely related examples from Gunton Park, Norfolk that bear his label (see C. Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, 1996). The ambitious form with its stylized husk-carved legs, paw feet and arm supports with rosette terminals characterize Grendey's oeuvre whose 'signature' leg design typically features a raised scrolled profile.
A number of chairs of this related model are known, many of which have formed part of renowned collections, including Percival D. Griffiths (illustrated in R.W. Symonds, English Furniture from Charles II to George II, 1929, p.155, fig.102). A set of library armchairs with the identical leg and featuring the paw foot was supplied to the Hon. George Shirley (d.1787), fifth son of the 1st Earl of Ferrars (d.1717) of which a pair were sold anonymously at Christie’s, London, 22 May 2012 lot 279.