Rare Victorian Est. 2008 · The Curator's Archive
eBay Antiques No. 356

Neo-Grec Herter Brothers or Pottier & Stymus Chairs

Originally published

Ebonized FurnitureHerter BrothersNeo-grecRosewoodPottier & StymusBronzeOrmolu

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.

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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 (site no longer available).
  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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