Irish George II-Style Double Chair Back Settee From Historic Filoli

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With an extraordinary piece of furniture like this, there is of course a story. It begins with a country retreat, … Read more With an extraordinary piece of furniture like this, there is of course a story. It begins with a country retreat, Filoli, a Georgian Revival-style country house set amid 16 acres of formal gardens all surrounded by a 654-acre estate. Located about 25 miles south of San Francisco in Woodside, California, the estate was meant to be a place where the age-50-something couple that built it could “grow young.” And achieve that in comfort with lots of space, specifically 54,256 square feet of it, divided rather grandly into 56 rooms. The end result was a grandeur befitting the opening aerial scenes of “Dynasty” and also for top-drawer diplomacy. In November 2023, President Biden conferred there with General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping. The Irish-made Georgian-style, double chair-back settee on offer here came from that house, where it fit to perfection.
Consider the features: A distinctive double chair-back design with an open, pierced, and intertwined central scrolled splat. The horned and somewhat demonic masks at the bottom of each chair-back. Arms that terminate in fierce eagle heads. Cabriole legs carved with acanthus-adorned face masks on the knee and ending in multi-jointed paw feet. Verdure tapestry upholstery on the drop-in seat, a nod to the lush landscapes just outdoors. Such exuberance with grandeur.
Irish furniture from this period is renowned for its elaborate and heavy carving, often featuring unique zoomorphic motifs not typically found on English furniture of the same era. While the original 18th-century pieces are important antiques, many high-quality reproductions like this were made in the late 19th century, such as those attributed to makers like James Hicks & Sons of Dublin. Just pausing for a bit on this piece, connects one with history.
Maker’s mark: Nonexistent. See less