A Spectacular Matched Set of Sixteen Gothic Lace Back Windsor Chairs

With Curved Crest Rails Above Interlaced Gothic Backs and Scrolled Arms.
Rich Honey Coloured Ash, Elm and Beech
English, Buckinghamshire, Thames Valley, c.1840

37" high x 16.75" wide x 19.5" deep 

Related Literature: Bernard D Cotton; "The English Regional Chair"; ACC Woodbridge 1990; Page 68, Figure TV110 and Figure TV111, illustrates and describes a closely similar, possibly actual example from this group, together with a close-up detail of a maker's branding mark. The illustrated chairs have provenance to an Alms House in the British Midlands, for which they were reputedly commissioned. This is a very rare and appealing design, inspired by the "Strawberry Hill Gothic" style of architect and antiquarian Horace Walpole (1717-1797), which ultimately led to the Gothic Revival taste of the early 19th century.