- Paris, c. 1785–6
- Beech wood
- Inv. 38
Armchair
Armchair executed in sculpted and gilded beech with extraordinary decorative motifs. These include Egyptian sphinxes at the end of the arms, supported by twisted columns that transform into dolphins at the waist of the chair. The top rail of the rectangular back is decorated with a bow of entwined ribbons and roses, while along the uprights, representing flaming torches, bunches of ivy creep, symbols of perseverance and happiness. At the waist, a rope of pearls between spiralling ribbons broken by four cubes decorated with a star, where the feet, in the form of quivers with arrows are inserted.
This chair, from the apartments of Queen Marie Antoinette at Fontainebleu, is one of a set commissioned from Georges Jacob, in the years 1785–6.
Fontainbleu Palace (Queen Marie-Antoinette private apartments); Palais du Luxembourg; Palais de Saint-Cloud, 1807; Lévy. Acquired by Calouste Gulbenkian through Owen at the sale of the Lévy estate, Paris, June 1917.
Verlet 1969
Pierre Verlet, Objets d’art français de la Collection Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbonne, 1969, s.p., no. 9.
Lisbon 1999
A Arte do Retrato. Quotidiano e Circunstância, catálogo de exposição. Lisbon: Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, 1999, p. 144–5, no. 53.
Coutinho 1999
Maria Isabel Pereira Coutinho, 18-Century French Furniture. Lisbon: Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, 1999, p. 283–5, no. 33.
Versailles 2000
Chefs-d’oeuvre du musée Gulbenkian de Lisbonne. Meubles et objets royaux du XVIIIe siècle français, exhibition catalogue. Versailles: Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, 2000, pp. 83–5, no. 24.
Lisbon 2001
Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. Lisbon: Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, 2001, p. 149, cat. 125.