The serpentine line carved with imbricated scales  on this sofa corresponds to the design for a set of eight chairs supplied in 1756 by John Gordon to James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl (1690 - 1764) for Blair Castle, Perthshire. The same pattern is also found on the extensive suite of seat furniture attributed to William and John Gordon, almost certainly supplied to George Brudenell, 4th Earl of Cardigan (1712 - 1790) for Ditton Park, Buckinghamshire. A pair of chairs from this suite was sold from the Simon Sainsbury Collection, Christie's London, 18 June 2008, lot 60 for £337,500 inc. premium. Further armchairs from the suite are in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London and in the Noel Terry Collection at Fairfax House, York.

 

Anthony Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London, 1968, fig. 87