2 Imperial Empire Armchairs For The Tuileries And Fontainebleau Attributed To Jacob Desmalter

2021 Napoleon year

2 Empire period armchairs which can form a pair, square back model, baluster armrest supports, front legs called Jacob and rear saber legs. Gray lacquered wood, enhanced with black to simulate patinated bronze. Empire period work from the 1810s, inspired by the Directoire style and attributed to Jacob Desmalter (unstamped).
Two years ago, we sold a pair of Jacob Desmalter chairs from Fontainebleau, with very comparable workmanship and finishes: https://www.gslr-antiques.com/fr/boutique/sieges/paire-chaises- chateau-fontainebleau-jacob.php

Our seats are interesting for their Imperial and Royal provenance since they bear the iron marks of two prestigious palaces: The Tuileries for one (TH, inventory numbers T2329, with the fire mark of the Royal Furniture guard affixed under Louis XVIII on furniture recovered from the Empire) and Fontainebleau (FON, inventory numbers crossed out and once again the mark with the 3 fleurs-de-lis under the Royal crown of Louis XVIII's furniture storage). These are most likely seats intended for secondary apartments, but undeniably of historical provenance.
For the Napoleon year, we purchased these two seats separately from two different origins and had them restored identically to illustrate an interesting vision of the major official orders placed by the imperial furniture guard. This venerable institution was charged by the Emperor with hastily and in the latest fashion refurnishing Palaces such as the Tuileries, Fontainebleau, Compiegne by ordering 20, 30, 50 identical armchairs from Jacob and Marcion. These two official supplier workshops of the imperial furniture storage often worked under contract, copying the models of one or the other to provide the requested quantities as quickly as possible. This is the case for our seats, which are of the same model, identical but with slight differences (height and mounting of the backrest for example). The explanation could be multiple, subcontracting from Jacob to Marcion, or orders made a few months or years apart? In any case they were not intended to be placed together side by side. The distance of 50km between the two palaces made them identical, but this interesting confrontation shows the reality of their similarities.

We have had these seats completely restored: dismantled, reassembled, re-lacquered, re-championed, re-upholstered in horsehair on webbing with a knife-edge back and covered in Tassinari and Chatel line silk. It seemed interesting to us to present them for sale together "as a pair", to illustrate the uses and controls of the imperial furniture storage unit.

These seats are on sale now but will not be available for a few months. They are initially loaned for 3 months to the Musée de l'Hotel Abbatial de Lunéville (54) for its special exhibition for the Napoleon year "Soyer Père et Fils, Miniaturiste et Scientist au coeur de l'Empire". They will then be represented in the exhibition catalog and will become museum pieces.

Fontainebleau armchair: width 61cm, back height 91.5cm, seat height 40.5cm
Tuileries armchair: width 61cm, back height 94cm, seat height 40.5cm

Ref: DZRQ8LILY0