A pair of George II side chairs (c. 1740 to c. 1745 Chinese)

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A pair of George II Chinese side chairs

An attractive pair of George II side chairs, scarlet painted with gilt decoration and with shaped drop in seats, with wicker caning. Standing on cabriole legs hipped at the knees with stylised shells and ‘C’ scrolls and standing on ball and claw feet.

English, circa 1745

Width: 22” 56 cm
Depth: 23” 58 cm
Height: 38” 97 cm

This pair of chairs with its gold decoration on a sealing-wax red ground typifies the manner in which the Chinese attempted to interpret English furniture designs, but then allowed eastern methods of construction. The profile of the legs, although similar to English examples, has a higher claw support, with a larger ball than found in European examples. The vase-shaped splats, with their arched and scrolled crest rails, are typical of English examples dating from the same period; see D. Howard, A Tale of Three Cities, Canton, Shanghai & Hong Kong,