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310
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ETRUSCAN ARMCHAIR WITH FRAME, CIRCA 1820
in gilded wood; the…
See original version (French)
310
-
ETRUSCAN ARMCHAIR WITH FRAME, CIRCA 1820
in gilded wood; the…
See original version (French)
Estimate €1,000 - €2,000
Voluntary lot
Description
ETRUSCAN ARMCHAIR WITH FRAME, CIRCA 1820
in gilded wood; the front legs are turned, tapered and curved, topped with scrolling water leaves and finished with foliage forming a hoof; the rear legs are Etruscan and moulded; the waist is trapezoidal; the back is open, the upper crosspiece with a crook, decorated with scrolling lotuses. The sinuous uprights of the back continue to form the seat, drawing a perfect, uninterrupted line. The whole is moulded and strewn with rosettes; the crosspiece of the back, like those of the waistband, are adorned with a central rosette flanked by palmettes from which emerge a flower or a bud.
The armrests are in the form of a semi-circular doucine flaring out into scrolled water leaves on the waistband, with a scroll escaping. Lotus leaf and scroll fittings.
AN ETRUSCAN-STYLE ARMCHAIR A CHASSIS, CIRCA 1820
97 x 60 x 49 CM - 38,2 x 23,6 x 19,3 IN.
The Mobilier National has in its collection an armchair very similar in design to ours (GME 4069/001), bearing the mark of a cross inscribed in a circle. Inventory number GME 4069. This chair was donated to the Mobilier National on 26 January 1909 by the Panthéon as part of a suite of four (Arch. Mob. nat., MM6428, f° 8 v°, no. 4069; id., M70, f° 81 v°, no. 4069). It has variations in the upper crosspiece of the backrest and in the base of the armrests, which end in a scroll resting on a stop. It is painted grey with gold highlights.
Our chair is in the "Etruscan" style in which Georges Jacob created his armchairs as early as 1787 (1), and for which Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign refreshed his enthusiasm with its forms inspired by Antiquity. The Emperor then commissioned the architect-ornamentalists Charles Percier (1764-1838) and Pierre-Léonard Fontaine (1762-1853) to refurnish all the imperial palaces.
Although our armchair bears no mark attesting to its provenance, there is no doubt that it was a prestigious one. The removable back and seat frames, which allow the upholstery to be changed with the seasons, are a sign that this armchair belonged to a grand residence. Its design and quality of execution suggest that it was made by a great cabinetmaker. The uniqueness of its design is particularly striking. Ornamentation gives way to the purity of the sinuous, uninterrupted line of the back, which continues into the seat. There are very few chairs with this line.
Le siège français, by Madeleine Jarry, éditions Vilo, Paris, p.273.
See original version (French)
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Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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