AFA Summer 2020

Summer 88 www.afamag.com | w ww.incollect.com Armchair, England, probably London, 1763–1767. Mahogany and cane. Museum Purchase (1959-351, 2). Inspired by trade with the Far East, chinoiserie (or Chinese) taste was fashionable throughout the eighteenth century. Its influence on furniture was most visible during the last half of the century, and was one of the three styles Thomas Chippendale included in his furniture design book. Here the strong effects of the Chinese taste are seen in the pagoda crests and in the lattice-work railings on the backs and arms. Likewise, the use of fretted brackets for connecting the legs and seat rails is derived from Chinese design sources. However, in this instance they are composed with the C and S-scrolls common to European ornament. Originally part of a larger set that included chairs, settees, and stools, this chair has a history of ownership by John Wentworth 1737–1820, the last royal governor of New Hampshire. Dessert basket and stand (one from a pair), John Wakelin and William Taylor, London, England, 1787– 1788 (dated). Silver, gold and leaded glass. Museum Purchase (1972-438, 1). With its rich gilding and faceted cut glass liner, this dessert basket and stand would have graced a spectacular dining table. One of a pair, such baskets were filled with an array of fresh seasonal fruits to serve as the chief ornaments for a formal dessert course. The sparkling leaded glass liner is original; its use reflects the rise of the Anglo-Irish glass making industry at the end of the eighteenth century, as well as the importance of lavishly ornamented tableware for dessert. The London silversmithing firm of Wakelin and Taylor made these baskets for Henry Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, 2nd Duke of Newcastle under Lyme, a wealthy and well-connected member of the British aristocracy who held a lifetime appointment as Controller of Customs for the port of London.