A REGENCY MAHOGANY LIBRARY BERGERE ARMCHAIRATTRIBUTED TO BANTING, FRANCE & CO., CIRCA 1820-30OF MASSIVE PROPORTIONS138.5cm high, 103cm wide, 68cm deepOf rare oversized form, this chair was possibly designed as a 'show piece', and conforms to the early 19th century fashionbining Grecian and Louis XIV ornamentation, popularised by Thomas King's The Modern Style of Cabinet Work Exemplified (1835). Related furniture was supplied by Messrs Banting France & Co. in 1821 for Frederick William Hervey, 5th Earl and 1st Marquess of Bristol (d.1859) at no.6, St James Square (J. Shurmer, Ickworth, 1998, p.12). For a closely related bergere armchair, also attributed to Banting & France, see Christie's Important English Furniture, 23rd November, Lot 127, 22,800.