A matched pair of French Renaissance walnut caquetoire chair...

Estimate

£3,000 - £5,000

A matched pair of French Renaissance walnut caquetoire chairs. Circa 1570, the backs with arched crestings, cabochon and geometric mouldings, above trapezoidal seats with turned legs and moulded stretchers, height 127cm, width 59.5cm, depth 45cm, height of seat 58cm. One seat with inventory number 40402 on the underside, and each with old Paris retailer's labels Douane? Marhamchurch Antiques 2013. Dr. Preston Pope Satterwhite collection, Speed Art Museum Kentucky from the 1940s. Mollie & Graham met in Wimbledon in 1978. He, a Cornishman, born in Gulval in 1930, acquired an early appreciation of art visiting Newlyn Gallery with his family. In his early career Graham worked in London writing for the Daily Express and he was responsible for one of the first Arts columns in a tabloid paper, but in 1960 he opened an antique shop in Chelsea. Inspired by trips to Italy, he displayed early furniture and antiquities in an uncluttered modern setting, a technique he later utilised in his own home. The Darks moved back to Cornwall in 1980 and at their home in Flushing, and later Truro, curated an impressive body of art and antiquities with a particular focus on Cornish artists such as Paul Feiler and Terry Frost, who both became close friends. The paintings were displayed alongside mid-century modern designer furniture by Eames, Bertoia and Magistretti, and arrangements of antiquities, thought of as ‘ensembles’ by Graham. Warm, charming, and generous hosts, they entertained their artistic circle of friends in their exquisitely arranged home, and it is a privilege for us to handle their beautiful possessions today. We hope to present them to you with as much care and consideration as the Darks used, and that those two remarkable connoisseurs would have approved.Graham Dark 1930-2015Mollie Dark 1928-2024 The main portion of one seat is probably an old replacement, otherwise minor wear, nicks, scratches and cracks, commensurate with their age.