This is a fantastic antique pair of English Victorian Sheraton Revival satinwood armchairs which date from Circa 1890. They are both profusely hand painted with floral sprays and swagged ribbons. Each with oval shield shaped plaques painted with frolicking putti. The arms scroll gently onto tulip turned supports and they stand on baluster tapering legs which are also decorated with hand painted floral motifs. One chair is stamped: 'HOWARD & SONS LTD, 13995 1822, BERNERS ST. There is no mistaking their beautiful and stylish design, which is certain to make them a treasured addition to one of the rooms in your home. Condition: In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 84 x Width 59 x Depth 52 - armchair Dimensions in inches: Height 2 feet, 9 inches x Width 1 foot, 11 inches x Depth 1 foot, 8 inches - armchair Howard and Sons of London were one of the best upholstery chair makers of the Victorian era. They were as well known as the antique furniture makers Gillows for the quality and styles of furniture. Howard and Sons worked together with Gillows of Lancaster on several occasions and it is said that they manufactured pieces of upholstered furniture for Gillows and other renowned makers like Maple and Co. Howard and Sons chairs were shown at large exhibitions around the world and supplied several Royal homes. Howard and Sons were mainly well known for antique upholstered easy armchairs, antique sofas, antique wing chairs and antique chaise lounge. They also made some very fine furniture and you can see some very nice examples on the market today. They only used the finest materials and made their chairs for comfort. Howard and Sons mainly used traditional upholstering techniques such as tenon jointed frames, stitched front edging and used solid woods for the frames so there chairs were not just comfortable pieces of furniture, but also hard wearing and built to last. Satinwood is a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indian or Ceylon satinwood is the yellowish or dark-brown heartwood of Chloroxylon swietenia. The lustrous, fine-grained, usually figured wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, veneers, and backs of brushes. West Indian satinwood, sometimes called yellow wood, is considered superior. It is the golden yellow, lustrous, even-grained wood found in the Florida Keys and the West Indies. It has long been valued for furniture. It is also used for musical instruments, veneers, and other purposes. Satinwood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae. Thomas Sheraton (1751 - 1806) was an English cabinetmaker and one of the leading exponents of Neoclassicism. Sheraton gave his name to a style of furniture characterised by a feminine refinement of late Georgian styles and became the most powerful source of inspiration behind the furniture of the late 18th century. His four-part Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterers’ Drawing Book greatly influenced English and American design. Sheraton was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker, but he became better known as an inventor, artist, mystic, and religious controversialist. Initially he wrote on theological subjects, describing himself as a “mechanic, one who never had the advantage of collegiate or academical education.” He settled in London c. 1790, and his trade card gave his address as Wardour Street, Soho. Supporting himself mainly as an author, Sheraton wrote Drawing Book (1791), the first part of which is devoted to somewhat naive, verbose dissertations on perspective, architecture, and geometry and the second part, on which his reputation is certainly based, is filled with plates that are admirable in draftsmanship, form, and proportion. In 1803 Sheraton, who had been ordained a Baptist minister in 1800, published his Cabinet Dictionary (with plates), containing An Explanation of All Terms Used in the Cabinet, Chair and Upholstery Branches with Dictionary for Varnishing, Polishing and Gilding. Some of the designs in this work, venturing well into the Regency style, are markedly unconventional. That he was a fashionable cabinetmaker is remarkable, for he was poor, his home of necessity half shop. It cannot be presumed that he was the maker of those examples even closely resembling his plates. Although Sheraton undoubtedly borrowed from other cabinetmakers, most of the plates in his early publications are supposedly his own designs. The term Sheraton has been recklessly bestowed upon vast quantities of late 18th-century painted and inlaid satinwood furniture, but, properly understood and used in a generic sense, Sheraton is an appropriate label recognizing a mastermind behind the period. The opinion that his lack of success was caused by his assertive character is hypothetical. Our reference: 06781 Please feel free to email or call us (+44 20 8809 9605) to arrange a viewing in our North London warehouse. Shipping: We ship worldwide and deliver to Mainland UK addresses free of charge. A shipping cost to all other destinations must be requested prior to purchase. To request a shipping quote for the items in your cart, please click HERE. Delivery and return policy: We require that someone be home on the agreed delivery day if applicable, otherwise a redelivery fee will apply. In accordance with Distance Selling Regulations, we offer a 14-day money back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the item. The item must be returned in its original packaging and condition. Unless the item is not as described in a material way, the buyer is responsible for return shipping expenses. Buyers are fully responsible for any customs duties or local taxes that may be incurred on items sent outside of the European Union.