A George III serpentine painted and carved settee The padded serpentine backrest to padded sides and armrests within scroll-carved borders, above a serpentine seat with squab cushion, and six cushions, the apron with applied foliate carved edge, raised on eight fluted legs, alterations possibly formally a confidante sofa, 211cm wide, 79cm deep, 97cm high (83in wide, 31in deep, 38in high). Footnotes: By family repute this settee was purchased from the sale of property from Lumley Castle formally the property of the Earl of Scarborough, August 8th 1785, by Mr Christie. The confidante, or three--part sofa origins in France in the mid-18th century. The design allows for confidential conversations on the part of the user, hence the term 'confidante'. This style of sofa was soon adopted by English furniture makers and a number of leading craftsmen published designs. For example, the drawings for tri-partite sofas by William and John Linnell (see Victoria and Albert Museum: E.141-1929) and also designs by Hepplewhite for a 'Confidante and Sofa' in the Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide, published posthumously in 1788. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TP TP TP lots may be stored and/or transferred to an offsite location. Please refer to cataloguing and shipping information for more details. Contact Edinburgh@Bonhams.com for more information. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing