A George III giltwood sofa, 1765 (beech & damask)

Designed by Robert Adam and made by Thomas Chippendale. The serpentine padded back, outscrolled arms and serpentine seat covered in blue floral damask cut silk-velvet, the serpentine scrolled cresting bordered with foliage-wrapped reeding and centred by a pierced anthemion cresting, the arms and seat edged with husks, the arms carved with anthemia ending in sunflower double rosettes, the deep seat-rail carved with a central shell framed by griffins and sphinxes framing the legs, the cabriole legs headed by anthemia issuing ribbon-tied interlaced descending wreaths, on hairy-paw feet ringed by beaded girdles, the side-rails with sphinxes and scrolling foliage centred by wreaths, the back-rail plain; seat-rail facings in pine, the rounded seat-rail in pine and the reverse of the front seat-rail incised 'I'; front left, back right and centre back left feet replaced, front right foot partially replaced, with cramp-cuts, the seat-rail with ½ in. (1 cm.) upholstery tacking-rail added to the top, two beech front-to-back struts, beech corner blocks, the anthemion in the top-rail repaired, originally oil-gilt, now water-gilt over a thin lacquer with traces of the original gilding.