(8) George II Chippendale Style Mahogany Dining Chairs. Full set, 2 with arms, 6 without. All possessing the signature shell knee and claw-and-ball feet. 

Condition: Very good. 

Size: 30 1/2 x 19 x 39 1/2 in. 

Thomas Chippendale was born in Yorkshire, England in 1718. The Chippendale family had long been involved with woodworking, so he probably received basic training from his father, a joiner, although it is believed that he was also trained by Richard Wood in York before he relocated to London. In 1754 Chippendale relocated to 60-62 St Martin’s Lane in London, where for the next 60 years the family business operated until 1813 when his son, Thomas Chippendale Jr, was evicted for bankruptcy. During 1754 he also began a partnership with James Rannie, a wealthy Scottish merchant who put money into the business, and published a book of his designs in a trade catalog titled “The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director,” gaining national renown. Their works involved designing furniture in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. Prior to Chippendale, most styles of furniture were named after the currently reigning monarch, such as Louis XV or Queen Anne, but during the end of the reign of King George II the name Chippendale first took hold. According to the Victoria and Albert Museum, “so influential were his designs, in Britain and throughout Europe and America, that ‘Chippendale’ became a shorthand description for any furniture similar to his Director designs.” In 1779 Chippendale relocated to Hoxton where he died of tuberculosis that same year.

Very good.