A mid Victorian maple sofa Circa 1870, designed by Edward Middleton Barry (1830-1880) With outscrolled arm supports, on eared shaped panelled downswept legs, the front legs each headed by a projecting 'jewel-cut' tablet within a shaped cartouche, terminating in punctuated strap-and-block feet with brass castors, 216cm wide x 89cm deep x 85cm high, (85in wide x 35in deep x 33in high) Footnotes: Provenance Dreweatts, Guy Tobin: 'For the Love of Objects!', 7 January 2025, lot 73, where acquired by the current owner This sofa, designed by Edward Middleton Barry, was created for the Damask Bedroom at Crewe Hall. Dating from the late 1860s, it forms part of Barry's restoration of the house following the devastating fire of 1866. Originally upholstered in a voluminous chintz, the sofa was conceived to harmonise with the richly decorated interior scheme. A watercolour of the Great Hall at Crewe by Joseph Nash, sold by Christie's in 1998, notes that the interiors were likely decorated by Clayton and Bell and J. G. Crace. Crewe Hall itself is fundamentally Jacobean in character, later remodelled in the early 19th century by Edward Blore. In his restoration, Barry showed sensitivity to Blore's interventions and to the earlier interiors. He was almost certainly responsible for the design of this sofa, whose strapwork carving echoes the ornamental plasterwork of the Damask Bedroom, where it stood at the foot of a four-poster bed. The sofa remained with the Crewe family until it was sold at auction in 2024 and subsequently at Dreweatts. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TP TP For auctions held in Scotland: Please refer to the catalogue and/or after-sale information or contact Edinburgh@Bonhams.com for more information. For all other auctions: Lots will be moved to an offsite storage location (The Packengers, Unit 9, Abbey Mead Industrial Park, Brooker Road, Waltham Abbey, EN9 1HU, England, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue and/or after-sale information, sent out to all buyers post-sale. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 10 calendar days from the auction date. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing