A George IV gothic revival painted and parcel gilt bergere attributed to Gillows
Circa 1825, probably after a design by William Porden
The hexagonal arm terminals each comprised of three tiers, each tier with five blind cusped ogee arches surmounted by a foliate boss, above a blind trefoil and quatrefoil seat frame flanked by lozenge embedded rosette angles, on four acanthus wrapped legs each with a lower section comprising five blind cusped ogee arches, signs of old screw holes and batten-carrying holes to the rails, approximately: 76cm wide x 94cm deep x 95cm high, (29 1/2in wide x 37in deep x 37in high)
Footnotes:
An identical bergere is illustrated in F. Collard, Regency Furniture, 1985, Woodbridge, p. 175. As with the offered lot, this carved giltwood example dates to circa 1825. Both of these are closely comparable to at least two of the armchairs which feature among the superb gothic revival furniture shown inside the Drawing Room at Eaton Hall, as depicted in one of J.C. Buckler's series of prints called 'Views of Eaton Hall', produced in 1826.

The opulent and fantastical 'gothic' extravaganza that is Eaton Hall is also discussed in G. Acloque and J. Cornforth, 'The Eternal Gothic of Eaton', Country Life, Vol. CXLIX, Part I No. 3844, 11 February, pp.'s 304-7; Part II No. 3845, 11 February 1971, pp.'s 360-4. Whilst the aforementioned Buckler print appears in F. Collard, Regency Furniture, p. 172.

In 1803 the architect William Porden (c.1755-1822) began work on Eaton Hall, where the Grosvenor family lived. And the project, certainly in architectural terms, seems to have been finished during the 1820s. It was evidently completed by 1826 since Mrs Arbuthnot opined the same year that Eaton Hall was: 'the most gaudy concern I ever saw. It looks like the new bought and new built place of a rich manufacturer... the house decorated with a degree of gorgeousness that is quite fatiguing & takes away all appearance of real grandeur.' See Ibid, p. 182.

It is fascinating to note that this exact same model of bergere appears on one of the pages of the vast range of scrapbooks assembled by the renowned English decorator, David Hicks. This same excerpt is also included in a book entitled David Hicks Scrapbooks, which was edited by his son Ashley and published by Vendome Press. However this colour photograph of the chair actually first featured in a 1954 article in 'House and Garden' magazine, which arguably was what really kickstarted the career of David Hicks in the first place.

This famous early period of David Hicks is described in some detail in a brilliant online article, once again with House and Garden, from 7 October 2017, see https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/article/david-hicks-scrapbooks

David Hicks (1929-1998)
In 1951, as a 22 year old art student, David Hicks met up with John Fowler to discuss the possibilities of pursuing a career as a decorator. However their talk quickly turned to some flats on the King's Road, where Fowler then lived, and it wasn't long before Hicks decided to move into the one vacant flat belonging to Fowler which was located there.

Despite this initial acquaintance, it seems that Hicks could not get a job working for Fowler and this led inevitably to the former moving out of the King's Road flat. Subsequently David transferred to 22 South Eaton Place, in SW1, where he resided with his mother in a William IV period house just within the bounds of Belgravia. Hicks started upon his first, and what turned out to be one of his most important, decorating schemes at this particular address.

In instigating this project, a long period of preparation comprised of studying period interiors, visiting museums and galleries, along with sketching and collecting magazine pictures came to fruition for Hicks. His decision was to counter the well established 'country house' look promoted by John Fowler with his own bold and unique style, yet still to achieve this through the use of antiques and old patterns.

As opposed to the apparent 'prettiness' of Fowler's output at that time, Hicks developed a striking colourist's approach to decoration. This was no doubt due to his background which included the fact that he had lost his brother in the war, had undergone two years' military conscription and hailed from country 'hunting' stock, all of which combined to produce a vivid element of masculinity or masculine boldness in his work.

Also, having studied set design, David Hicks's style was always enjoyably theatrical especially in its dramatic contrasting of colours, whether between different rooms or even within the same space. A good example of this was in his completed interiors at South Eaton Place, where visitors or guests would move from the intentional colour-clashing of the drawing room to the entirely monochrome dining room, the latter with its hexagon-designed wallpaper.

When everything was finished at the house in 1953, David then asked everybody he knew to come over and see its impressive new interiors. Among those acquaintances who visited was a veteran of the Second World War and hero of the North African campaign called Peter Coats. Following the cessation of hostilities Coats was appointed Viceroy of India, but he had only fairly recently become the gardening editor of the magazine, House and Garden, upon his own trip to 22 South Eaton Place.

Peter Coats adored the house so much that in the course of just a week organised for it to be photographed for House and Garden. But perhaps more significantly he immediately began informing all of his own friends about David Hicks, the brilliant young man with a supreme talent, among other things, for interior decoration and design. As a consequence of all of this, the telephone at the Belgravia property started to ring much more frequently, effectively indicating the beginning of a great career for Hicks.

From thereon the work and commissions accumulated rapidly, and 1954 was a year of huge activity. At that time, Hicks's important clients even included two good friends of Peter Coats, Mrs Rex Benson and Mrs Douglas Fairbanks Jr. The latter was a Hollywood celebrity whilst the former, who was the ex-wife of the famous publisher Conde Nast, actually resided in London. Ashley Hicks recalls a time when Mrs Benson, in conversation with his father, informed the latter: 'I've had Syrie Maugham and John Fowler; I want something new...' And the rest, as the saying goes, is history.

See House and Garden, 7 October 2017, for more details or online at https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/article/david-hicks-scrapbooks
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TP
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