Pair Of William & Mary Japanned and Lacquered Armchairs

An exceptional pair of William III period japanned and lacquered armchairs; the armchairs' high back with a carved and pierced cresting rail above a lacquered central splat flanked by panels of caning; having elegantly curved arms above a caned seat and raised on cabriole legs to the front which terminate in unusual square block feet and swept legs to the rear united by a shaped H-stretcher. Decorated throughout in black and gilt japanning and with a squab cushion covered in silk damask.

The japanned decoration on the armchairs is clearly influenced by Stalker and Parker's 'A Treatise of Japaning and Varnishing' (1688) and includes a broad variety of insects, flowers and Oriental figures. The armchairs are of wonderfully sculptural form and this can be particularly be seen in their profile and their high backs give the armchairs a great presence.