Pair of Louis XVI period armchairs stamped by Jean-Baptiste Boulard

Pair of “à la Reine” armchairs stamped by Jean-Baptiste Boulard.
Moulded, carved and lacquered beech.
France.
1790.
92 x 44 x 59 cm (36.2 × 17.3 × 23.2 in).

This pair of Louis XVI period “à la Reine” armchairs in moulded and carved beechwood, cream-lacquered, bears the stamp of Jean-Baptiste Boulard.

The rectangular backrests, padded armrests supported by fluted baluster-shaped supports with asparagus and gadrooned motifs, the corner blocks adorned with rosettes, and the tapered, fluted legs ending in toupie feet: the entire ornamental vocabulary of these two armchairs reflects the purest Louis XVI period fashion.

Jean-Baptiste Boulard, a Parisian cabinetmaker born around 1725 and likely trained in the workshop of Michel Avisse, was certified as a master in 1754 and established himself on Rue de Cléry. In 1777, he was appointed to the Garde-Meuble, from which point he produced a considerable number of commissions for the royal households. Among them: the grand bed of Louis XVI for Fontainebleau, created in 1785 with Hauré; furniture for the King's cabinet at Saint-Cloud; a salon suite for the Queen at Versailles; seating for the apartments of Mesdames Louise and Élisabeth, as well as for the Count and Countess of Provence—that is, the future Louis XVIII and his wife Marie-Joséphine of Savoy. He also supplied much of the furniture for the Count of Artois at the Château de Bagatelle and several pieces for the Duchess of Polignac at Fontainebleau.

The green upholstery enwrought with floral motifs is modern, inspired by Louis XVI period tapestries.

An extremely similar armchair, part of a pair, is on display in the antechamber of the Dauphin's apartment at the Château de Compiègne. The second armchair of that pair, commissioned in 1790 for Madame Élisabeth’s cabinet at Compiègne, was sold at Christie’s, Paris, on December 10, 2000, for 293,750 francs, or approximately €67,000.

Sources

François de Salverte, Les Ébénistes du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1923 ; Pierre Devinoy and Madeleine Jarry, Le Siège français, Fribourg, 1973 ; Bill Pallot, L’Art du Siège au XVIIIe siècle en France, Paris, 1987.