George III period giltwood salon chair, attributable to Mayhew & Ince

George III period giltwood armchair. The gilt backrest surrounded by a lozenge motif carving, with gathered roses at the top. The padded armrests with scrolling, terminating in a seat rail with the same lozenge motif carving around the perimeter. The front legs slightly bulbous and fluted, terminating in peg feet. The interior seat rail with notches and drill holes, presumably used to steady the chairs when crated for shipping. The interior seat rail also with a pasted label reading ‘Abercromby’, presumably for the 18th century Scottish statesman and soldier Sir Ralph Abercromby. The inside of the left rear leg signed ‘Jas Cullen’ in an 18th century hand. Cullen was a retailer who may also have maintained a workshop in London and Edinburgh, and was known to handle pieces from the Mayhew & Ince workshop. Cullen’s clients included the Duke of Atholl, the Duke of Northumberland, and the Earl of Hopetoun.

Circa 1770

Literature: Sharon Goodman, ‘Modesty Prevails: Mayhew & Ince’s Commission for Sir Thomas Edwardes’, Furniture History Journal, v LII, 2016, pp. 111-22

Beard & Gilbert, eds.; The Dictionary of English Furniture, 1986, ‘James Cullen’, p. 218