Salon Suite Stamped Nogaret – Former Seligmann Collection

Louis XV-period salon furniture by Pierre Nogaret, comprising two armchairs, four chairs and a sofa in moulded and richly carved walnut, stamped NOGARET A LYON.
Lyon work from the Louis XV period by Pierre Nogaret.

Provenance: former private collection of Arnold Seligmann
Ader-Baudouin sale at Galerie Charpentier, 4 & 5 June 1935
then private collection of a villa on the French Riviera.
Reproduced in "L'art et la manière des ébénistes français au XVIIIe siècle" by Jean Nicolay

It is exceptional for a complete salon suite stamped Pierre Nogaret to have come down to us in such a state of preservation, accompanied by such a prestigious provenance and published as early as the 20th century in a reference work.
This ensemble combines precisely these rarely united qualities, making it one of the most remarkable examples of Lyon furniture from the second half of the reign of Louis XV.

Description of the furniture

Salon suite comprising two fauteuils and four chaises à la Reine, as well as a large winged sofa with a flat, triple-curved back, in natural walnut, very vigorously moulded and very richly carved with flowers, scrolls and leafy foliage centred by cartouches.
Five of the seven pieces of furniture are stamped Nogaret.

Connoisseurs of high-quality furniture will be delighted by this salon suite, which represents the highest degree of craftsmanship of one of the most eminent chair-makers of the Louis XV period.
Connoisseurs of distinguished provenance will be no less captivated, as it is difficult to imagine a more prestigious origin than the Arnold Seligmann collection, one of the most important international antiques dealers of the first half of the 20th century, further enhanced by its publication in Jean Nicolay's reference work.

All the seats are carved with the same cartouche at the centre of the lower back rail, including the sofa, a detail that is not particularly common on Nogaret's seats and is found only on models of the finest quality, further supporting the fact that these pieces indeed formed part of the same salon suite.
The armchairs and chairs are very closely related in design, broad and comfortable (the armchairs are of course slightly wider, with 65 cm between the armrests, but it is above all the dimensions of the chairs in this respect that are remarkable), with high flat backs, uprights formed of almost identical curves and counter-curves, bringing them to a height of 96 cm, with very slight outward inclination on the chairs and more pronounced on the armchairs, as is appropriate. All the backs feature the small "notch of atypical models" described and illustrated by Bernard Deloche on his blog devoted to Nogaret. To read here: https://pierre-nogaret.fr/production/

The large sofa is a remarkable seat with its eight legs and broad flat triple-curved back, with both large and small back sections equally vigorously shaped, the whole being highly Rococo in character, with deeply worked and strongly projecting carving.

All the seats are in superb original condition, with the frames intact (after carefully examining each seat, we found only a simple small bevelled glue repair at the end of one chair leg, a repair of no consequence and using the original piece of wood following a break, so in truth there is only one repair to one leg in the entire salon suite), the carving, crisp, vigorous and strongly projecting, remains perfect, while the walnut, of the finest quality, has suffered little from wood-boring insect attack.

They have been entirely reupholstered by our upholsterer and are presented in an unbleached linen awaiting final covering (they may be upholstered in a fabric of the client's choice by our upholsterer).

Dimensions

Armchairs:
Height: 96.5 cm - Width: 73 cm - Depth: 73 cm
Seat height and depth: 48 x 55 cm - Width between the armrests: 65 cm

Chairs:
Height: 96 cm - Width: 59 cm - Depth: 62 cm
Seat height and depth: 48 x 47 cm

Sofa:
Height: 109 cm - Width: 196 cm - Depth: 80 cm
Seat height and depth: 47 x 67 cm