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eBay Antiques · originally published

Neo-Grec Herter Brothers or Pottier & Stymus Chairs

Ebonized FurnitureHerter BrothersNeo-grecRosewoodPottier & StymusBronzeOrmolu

Neo-Grec Herter Brothers or Pottier & Stymus Chairs
Neo-Grec Herter Brothers or Pottier & Stymus Chairs

Neo-Grec Herter Brothers or Pottier & Stymus Chairs

I don't run across fine Neo-Grec, ebonized, Rosewood chairs like these too often. Each chair has a bronze plaque in the back splat, one of a male figure and the other of a female. There is ample ormolu throughout the chair and if I were the current owner, I would try to examine the back of the lion for a possible "P.S." stamp (Pottier & Stymus) as is true of my Egyptian Revival set. They are most likely of New York origin and the seller's attribution to either Pottier & Stymus or Herter Brothers isn't a stretch due to the fine quality. The seller is asking $5,000 for the pair with free shipping provided. I feel that they will go unsold due to the current state of the market - Victorian and Wall Street, both. More photos at the listing.

5 comments

  1. david reed
    Great chairs - for what its worth, we had a killer stand that we sold at auction few years ago (brought $12,000 or so) that we thought was P&S,. Turned out the buyer found it in an original K&C catalog.................it had many of the same design elements incorporated in these pieces. Agree with your assessment though. Certainly not a stretch to attributre to super fine maker!
  2. RareVictorian
    The catalog you're referring to can be found here.
  3. james conrad
    Well, its the last day of sale and not a single bidder so far. It maybe that it would have been better to market these chairs through an Auction House rather than a straight up ebay sale.
  4. RareVictorian
    An auction is probably where they will end up, but at the moment I don't think they can command $5k anywhere. They're great chairs, however. I'm wondering if they were dining chairs ....
  5. Phillip Livoni
    My wife and I own these chairs now. I have not removed any ormolu to check for initials. (I never think about doing it when I am at home and could easily do it.) I can assure you that they are not dining room chairs. My opinion is they were meant to be seen, not used, because the three-dimensional bronze plaque in the middle of the back splat uncomfortably projects into the spine of any sitter.

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