157 - A four-panel screen made of carved, openwork, and gilded wood, each panel featuring a stepped top, with a frame adorned with interlaced rings and foliage. The spandrels are carved with a waterleaf motif. Upholstered in blue and silver silk lampas decorated with medallions depicting facing peacocks surmounting leafy arabesques and garlands of pearls, which in turn crown a richly flowered vase flanked by putti. Louis XVI period. Panel dimensions: H: 137 cm - W: 51 cm (Minor losses and imperfections)

A four-panel screen made of carved, openwork, and gilded wood, each panel featuring a stepped top, with a frame adorned with interlaced rings and foliage. The spandrels are carved with a waterleaf motif. Upholstered in blue and silver silk lampas decorated with medallions depicting facing peacocks surmounting leafy arabesques and garlands of pearls, which in turn crown a richly flowered vase flanked by putti. Louis XVI period. Panel dimensions: H: 137 cm - W: 51 cm (Minor losses and imperfections) Provenance: The residence of Mr. and Mrs. J.P., Avenue Montaigne. Note: This folding screen is comparable to the one dating from 1780 held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, bequeathed by Mary Hayward Weir in 1968, under inventory number 69.9.1. “Folding screens were very fashionable in the 18th century, as evidenced by depictions of interiors from that period. They were manufactured in various sizes: large folding screens with multiple panels were placed in front of doors to block drafts, while others, shorter in height, were set up in front of the fireplace to shield against the heat of the fire (the latter were called “fireplace screens”). The frames of the screens could be covered with paper, leather, or fabric, but could also be left exposed, carved, and gilded, as is the case with this neoclassical screen.”