Beschreibung:

A PAIR OF GEORGE III GILTWOOD SOFAS Designed by Robert Adam and made by Thomas Chippendale Each with a serpentine padded back, outscrolled arms, serpentine seat and four loose cushions covered in crimson floral damask, the serpentine scrolled cresting bordered with foliage-wrapped reeding and centred by a pierced anthemion cresting, the arms and seat edged with husks, the arms carved with anthemions ending in sunflower rosettes, the deep seat-rail carved with a central shell framed by gryphons and sphinxes framing the legs, the cabriole legs headed by anthemions issuing descending wreaths, on hairy-paw feet headed by beaded girdles enclosing friction castors, the sides with sphinxes and scrolling foliage centred by wreaths, the back-rail plain; with beechwood frames, seat-rail facings, frontrail and legs in limewood; one sofa numbered on the back of the front-rail 'IIII' the other 'II'; sofa 'IIII' with the inner back left-hand foot, back right-hand foot and inner front right-hand foot partially replaced, the cresting broken and re-attached, later blocks, re-gilt; sofa 'II' with four pairs of batten-holes front to back, two cramping slots, the inner back right-hand foot and the inner front left-hand foot partially replaced, later blocks and small section of right-hand back angle bracket 1¼ in. (3 cm.) missing, re-gilt (see page 33) 86 in. (218.5 cm.) wide; 45½ in. (116 cm.) high; 36 in. (91.5 cm.) deep (2)