Offered by Franck Baptiste Paris
An exceptionally rare pair of corner *bergères* (deep armchairs) in beechwood with a pearl-grey lacquer finish.
The arched backrest features uprights finely carved with openwork coin-pattern friezes (*piastres*) and, at the top, a foliate motif (*culot*) adorned with flowers and seed pods.
The semi-circular seat rail, carved with an interlaced ribbon motif, rests on three tapered legs featuring fluting and *rudenture* (reeded filling) in the form of asparagus stalks; these connect to the rails via blocks decorated with floral motifs.
The armrests and their supports are embellished with acanthus leaf carvings.
Excellent state of preservation; original lacquer finish, with minor restorations consistent with age and use.
Both seat rails bear the stamp "I.B Sené" for Jean-Baptiste Claude Sené, a *menuisier* (joiner) admitted as a master craftsman in Paris in 1769.
Paris, Louis XVI period, circa 1780.
Dimensions:
Height: 95.5 cm – Width: 65 cm – Depth: 60 cm
Our assessment:
The pair of *bergères* presented here is of the utmost rarity. They originally belonged to an exceptional drawing-room suite comprising a sofa and two *confidents* (side seats), of which our *bergères* formed the detachable side elements.
Two types of sofas with *confidents* are known to exist: models where the *confidents* are permanently attached to the central body—already very rare—and those with fully detachable *confidents*, which are infinitely more exceptional. The latter allowed a large ceremonial sofa to be transformed into three independent seats, depending on the requirements and layout of the drawing room. Intended for the furnishing of grand residences, this type of seating—featuring a particularly ambitious design—was crafted only by the finest Parisian chair makers, such as Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené and Jean-Nicolas Blanchard during the reign of Louis XVI, or Nicolas Heurtaut, active as early as the end of Louis XV’s reign.
The sophisticated design of these *bergères*, their semi-circular shape, and their rich carving attest to their original status as part of one of these exceptionally rare commissioned suites.
Among the few known examples, one might cite the *canapé à confidents* (sofa with attached corner seats) made around 1775–1780 by Claude I Sené, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. 1982.60.71); the sofa with two *confidents* attributed to Bovo, held at the Louvre Museum (inv. OAR 148); the imposing sofa created in 1784 by Jean-Nicolas Blanchard for the summer drawing room of *Mesdames* (the daughters of Louis XV) at the Château de Bellevue, now in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon (inv. 1452); and the remarkable sofa with detachable *confidents* by Nicolas Heurtaut, illustrated on page 238 of Bill G. B. Pallot’s book, *L’Art du siège au XVIIIe siècle en France*.
Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené (1748–1803), a member of a prominent dynasty of Parisian chair makers, was admitted as a master craftsman on May 10, 1769. He established his workshop on Rue de Cléry under the sign "Au Gros Chapelet" and quickly established himself—alongside Georges Jacob—as one of the greatest chair makers of the reign of Louis XVI. A supplier to the Menus-Plaisirs and subsequently the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne from 1785 onwards, he created prestigious suites of furniture for Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and several members of the royal family, intended notably for the châteaux of Versailles, Saint-Cloud, Fontainebleau, and Compiègne. His works are distinguished by the elegance of their proportions, the exceptional quality of their carving, and the great inventiveness of their forms.
