A pair of Anglo-Indian Indian rosewood side chairs, circa 1765-70

A pair of Anglo-Indian Indian rosewood side chairs, circa 1765-70

each shaped top rail carved with a crest of a griffin within a coronet, above scrolled stiles with a rope-twist border, the pierced shaped splat carved with a foliate cartouche below flowerheads and with a stylized shell below, the drop-in compass-shaped seat on a conforming molded seat-rail, with cabriole legs carved at the knees with scrolls and foliage ending in paw feet joined by a turned X-form stretcher, the seat-rails stamped with the numbers V and VI
Provenance

Probably commissioned by James West of Alscot Park, Warwickshire.
The Estate of Esmond Bradley Martin, Sotheby's New York, 30 October 2002, lot 157.
The rapid expansion of trade between Europe and the East, particularly India and China, in the 18th century not only increased the fascination and use of the oriental style in the decorative arts and architecture in the West but also encouraged the artisans to produce wares in the European taste. These included items of porcelain and furniture which were probably copied directly from original exampies. 

That these chairs are constructed in Indian rosewood and when seen in conjunction with some of the constructional and decorative carving, would suggest manufacture in India. This origin was proposed by Adam Bowett and Amin Jaffer in their work on the catalogue entry to the pair of chairs sold at Bonhams London on 8th April 2003 (see following lot). Here they discuss that analysis of the wood on that pair of chairs had resulted in the identification of them being constructed in rosewood as opposed to padouk. Furthermore the construction of the leg of the current chairs would suggest Indian manufacture as Chinese examples with a cabriole leg are formed in two sections with a locking joint as opposed to the single piece of timber here, as would have been found in chairs of British manufacture. The use of the rope-twist carving to the back and the use of a cross-stretcher are both further attributes that ore found in Indian furniture making and not Chinese. A watercolour of an English official in discussion with a Nawab and his sons of circa 1760-65 depicts the two gentlemen sat in chairs with similarly formed cabriole legs to the current chairs also joined by cross-stretchers (see A. Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon, London, 2001, p.113, fig. 40). 

The present chairs probably date to the late 1760s or very early 1770s with their transitional style displaying the advance of neo-classicism to the backs with the cabriole leg and claw foot distinctly rococo. They incorporate the crest of the patron for whom they were commissioned, thought to be James West of Alscot Park (1703-1772). Their design is clearly based on an English model, but as with provincial furniture, precise dating can be difficult as the ornamental details of contemporary metropolitan furniture changed more rapidly as modern fashionable taste was assimilated in the designs. 

James West was a renowned connoisseur, and was President of the Royal Society from 1768 until his death. He set about rebuilding Alscot in the 1740's under the guidance of Sanderson Miller a project lasting some twenty-years and he commissioned a number of the greatest London cabinet-makers of the period to fit out his new residence including Thomas Chippendale; William Linnell; and William Hallett. In 1762, James West retired from politics and built a new wing at Alscot and in 1766 he commissioned John Cobb to supply a set of ormolu-mounted commodes (Lucy Wood, Lady Lever Art Gallery: Catalogue of Commodes, National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside, 1994, p. 51, fig. 35). Upon West's death, Horace Walpole wrote, ‘He had a very curious collection of old pictures, English coins, English prints, and manuscripts, but he was so rich that I take for granted nothing will be sold.’ West seems not to have been as rich as contemporaries believed; his manuscripts were sold to Lord Shelburne, and the rest of his collection by auction. It may have been at this time that this furniture was sold and given the numbering on the chair frames, it would seem likely that the set comprised at least eight chairs and a settee. A further pair of chairs were sold Sotheby's New York, 18 October 2006, lot 354. The settee matching these chairs was sold by Thomas Coulborn and Sons.