282 - PAIR OF ETRUSCAN-STYLE CHAIRS

PAIR OF ETRUSCAN-STYLE CHAIRS Made of carved light-colored fruitwood. The curule-style legs are decorated with water leaves and rosettes. The backs are sloped. Attributed to Georges Jacob, who was admitted as a master craftsman on September 4, 1765. Late 18th century, early 19th century, circa 1795–1800. Backrest upholstered in horsehair by the Brazet firm. Height: 78 cm - Width: 50 cm - Depth: 75 cm. (Very good overall condition; restorations include a small repair to the leg and minor imperfections) Provenance: – Purchased from Antiques Boston. – Private collection. Description: Our pair of chairs exemplifies the renewal of forms that characterized French decorative arts in the late 18th century, under the growing influence of Greco-Roman antiquity. With their bold silhouette, inverted backrest, and the fluid lines of their curule legs, these chairs reflect the emergence of a new ornamental vocabulary, foreshadowing the designs of the Directoire and Consulate periods. Their design originates from a sketch created around 1790 and preserved at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris [Inv. No. CD 2736]. Traditionally attributed to the ornamentalist Jean-Démosthène Dugourc (1749–1825), this composition nevertheless bears the signature “Meunier inv. et fec.,” identifying the latter as the designer and creator of the drawing. It belongs to a collection traditionally titled *Mobilier de Madame Élisabeth, 1790*, which brings together designs for furniture and interior decoration intended primarily for the sister of Louis XVI. Formerly part of Sir Richard Wallace’s collection, this set entered the collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs through a donation by David David-Weill in 1924. The adaptation of this design into late 18th-century Parisian furniture resulted in several versions featuring slight variations. Among these is a comparable chair attributed to Georges Jacob, which was offered at Sotheby’s in Paris on June 16, 2016 (lot 70). The craftsmanship of such chairs can be linked to the work of Georges Jacob, one of the leading artisans behind the renewal of French furniture at the end of the Ancien Régime, and later to that of his sons, who operated under the business name Jacob Frères beginning in 1796. The preservation of two examples forming a pair, based on this documented model, is of particular interest.