Price Guide to Antiques & Collectables
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George III Hepplewhite Mahogany Dining Chairs, Set of Eight

An outstanding set of eight George III Hepplewhite mahogany dining chairs. English circa 1780. provenance: Partridge, New Bond Street, London circa 1986. These wonderful chairs would rank as perhaps the finest examples of their kind to have been offered for auction in Australia. Their design closely follows a design in Hepplewhite, The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide of 1794 ( Plate 5,fig. 4) Everything about the design of these chairs is harmonious, from the way the back-splats interlace and entwine like ribbons, to the proud feathers on their backs and then the way the husk-trails run around the cresting rail and then fall downwards through the back uprights and down again through the tapered square legs to the blocked feet. Even the leather covered dished seats echo the movement and flow of the backs. Dimensions: armchairs 38.19 in. high 24.80 in. wide 21.65 in. deep at legs

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  • Provenance - A term used to describe the provable history of an antique or work of art, and thus an additional aid to verifying its authenticity. Provenance can have an inflating effect on the price of an item, particularly if the provenance relates to the early settlement of Australia, a famous person, or royalty. Less significant are previous sales of the item through an auction house or dealer.
  • George Iii - George III (1738 - 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 to 1820.
  • Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
  • Rail - A term used by cabinet makers for the horizontal sections of the frame of an item such as a chair or settee which have a front rail, a back rail and two side rails, and also on a door or carcase, where the rails are joined to the vertical framings.
  • Cresting - The decorative carving at the top of a piece of furniture, such as a sideboard back, a mirror, or a chair back.
  • Mahogany - Mahogany is a dense, close grained red-coloured timber from the West Indies and Central America. It was first imported into Europe in the the early 18th century and its use continued through the 19th century. It was popular for furniture making because of its strength, the wide boards available, the distinctive grain on some boards, termed flame mahogany and the rich warm colour of the timber when it was polished.. The "flame" was produced where a limb grew out from the trunk of the tree, and this timber was usually sliced into veneers for feature panels on doors, backs and cornices.

    Some terms used to describe mahogany relate to the country from which it originally came, such as "Cuban" mahogany, "Honduras" mahogany etc. However unless the wood has been tested the names assigned are more a selling feature, rather than a true indication of the timber's origin.

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An outstanding set of eight George III Hepplewhite mahogany…