Offered by Tobogan Antiques
Rare set of six cabriolet armchairs in carved beech, painted cream white. Resting on four tapered, fluted legs, the flared seat is supported by a set of traverses adorned with a frieze of water leaves and featuring, at the base, a trophy of arms composed of torches, a quiver with feathers, and a mask. The armrests and their consoles extend from connecting blocks adorned with a rosette and are molded all the way up to the oval backrest, known as a medallion. At the top of the backrest sits a second trophy of attributes, combining a torch, quiver, scroll, and wreath of leaves. The seat, backrest, and armrests are upholstered in blue velvet with a floral design.
The finesse of the wood carving is comparable to that of the chairmaker Jean-Baptiste III Lelarge (1743–1802), who was admitted as a master in 1775; a side chair similar to our rare set is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (inv. no. 23. 147.3), or to the elegant pair of gilded wooden armchairs at the Nissim de Camondo Museum (inv. nos. CAM 648.1 and CAM 648.2).
Biography :
Jean-Baptiste III Lelarge was one of the finest chairmakers of the reign of Louis XVI. He succeeded his father, Jean-Baptiste II Lelarge, and worked for a wealthy clientele in France and abroad, including the King of Portugal. Jean-Baptiste Lelarge’s chairs are, for the most part, exceptionally beautiful: sturdy yet not heavy, rigorously constructed, and impeccably assembled, they are adorned with simple moldings or fine, incisive carvings, well-distributed and never overloaded. In Lelarge’s designs, there is a predominance of chairs with medallion backs, which are found in fairly large numbers today. This backrest is frequently supported by two curved posts, carved with acanthus leaves.
