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Lot Essay
Georges Jacob, maître in 1756.
Although the original commission for this extraordinary bergère à oreilles remains unidentified, the exceptional shape and extremely crisp, fine carving of the frame is representative of the finest work of Georges Jacob, founder of an important dynasty of menuisiers-ébénistes which continued for three generations. In 1784 he was appointed chairmaker to the Crown, in which capacity he supplied seat-furniture to the Garde Meuble and Menus Plaisirs for many of the royal châteaux, and also had a strong private clientele including the Comtes d'Artois and de Provence, the Duc de Penthièvre, among others (See B. Pallot, Furniture Collections in the Louvre, Dijon, 1993, vol. II, p. 194).
The virtuosity of the overall shape with reverse scrolling back also relates to a set of seat furniture supplied to the comte d’Artois by Georges Jacob for the Grand Salon at the Château de Bagatelle. Commissioned in 1778, the suite comprised eight fauteuils and sixteen side chairs. The shape of the backrest to the seat furniture, slightly fan shaped with a concave curve, also seen in the present lot, was a novelty developed by Jacob, most likely due to the circular shape of the salon in which the suite was to be placed. A further fauteuil was supplied by Jacob for the use of Louis XVI, at Bagatelle (sold Christie’s, London, 23 June 1999, lot 30, for £386,500).
Intriguingly, the cipher ‘M.A’ to the top-rail was a device employed by Marie Antoinette, adding further credence to the possibility that this bergère was part of a commission for the Royal Court.
Although the original commission for this extraordinary bergère à oreilles remains unidentified, the exceptional shape and extremely crisp, fine carving of the frame is representative of the finest work of Georges Jacob, founder of an important dynasty of menuisiers-ébénistes which continued for three generations. In 1784 he was appointed chairmaker to the Crown, in which capacity he supplied seat-furniture to the Garde Meuble and Menus Plaisirs for many of the royal châteaux, and also had a strong private clientele including the Comtes d'Artois and de Provence, the Duc de Penthièvre, among others (See B. Pallot, Furniture Collections in the Louvre, Dijon, 1993, vol. II, p. 194).
The virtuosity of the overall shape with reverse scrolling back also relates to a set of seat furniture supplied to the comte d’Artois by Georges Jacob for the Grand Salon at the Château de Bagatelle. Commissioned in 1778, the suite comprised eight fauteuils and sixteen side chairs. The shape of the backrest to the seat furniture, slightly fan shaped with a concave curve, also seen in the present lot, was a novelty developed by Jacob, most likely due to the circular shape of the salon in which the suite was to be placed. A further fauteuil was supplied by Jacob for the use of Louis XVI, at Bagatelle (sold Christie’s, London, 23 June 1999, lot 30, for £386,500).
Intriguingly, the cipher ‘M.A’ to the top-rail was a device employed by Marie Antoinette, adding further credence to the possibility that this bergère was part of a commission for the Royal Court.