A PAIR OF EBONIZED BRASS-INLAID ARMCHAIRS, AFTER A DESIGN BY THOMAS HOPE

June 8 2009, 5:46pm

English. Circa 1810. In 1809 the Anglo-Dutch banker, collector, and theorist, Thomas Hope (1769-1831), published a catalog entitled Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, which provided a detailed and faithful inventory of his London house in Duchess Street. The book had an enormous impact on contemporary fashion and certainly fulfilled its intended purpose, for in 1827 John Britton could write that it had “not only improved the taste of cabinetmakers and upholsterers, but also that of their employers.” The present chairs are based on Plate 59, No. 1, in Hope's catalogue, the only significant deviation from his original design being the less elaborate posts supporting the arms. Much interest has recently been sparked in the achievement of Thomas Hope, “whose brilliance has been rarely equaled in the history of British taste,” by the superbly researched exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Bard Institute, New York.