Rare mahogany and mahogany veneered ceremonial armchair It features a wide hemicycle backrest and rests on four arched legs. Pilaster armrests and leather cuffs. Green leather upholstery. Seat upholstered with frame. Exceptionally rich, finely chased and gilded bronzes such as palmettes, rais de cœur, a bust of Diana in the main reserve of the backrest, Zephyr masks in the center of each lateral reserve and dog-headed Rhython profiles. The belt is punctuated with strong palmettes and scrolls alternating with winged lions. The back of the seat features large flamed torches joined by a twisted ribbon of flowers. The pilasters of the armrests and the fronts of the legs are also decorated with bronze cores. French work circa 1840 (possibly by the Beurdeley company, which specialized in the manufacture of luxury furniture from the early 19th century). Dimensions: height 110 cm; width: 74 cm, depth: 60 cm (minor accidents and repairs, one back leg fractured and glued back together). (Apocryphal stamp of Georges Jacob). This seat is directly inspired by an engraving of a seat from the "Recueil de décorations intérieures" by Percier et Fontaine published in 1802 (reproduced in Léon de Groët, Les Arts décoratifs de 1790 à 1850, Paris, 1985, page 143, plate 266). Although this engraving tells us nothing about the nature of the decorations we see on the seat, we can nevertheless legitimately assume that these decorations were intended to be made in gilded bronzes; indeed, a large armchair of the same type also inspired by an engraving from the same collection by Percier et Fontaine illustrated in the aforementioned work (page 143, plate 265) features arm brackets with winged lion monopods made in gilded bronze. (Sotheby's/Poulain Lefur sale, collection of Mr. and Mrs. Luigi Anton Laura, Paris June 27, 2001, lot 101)-This chair was undoubtedly the object of a special, one-off commission.