Pair of convertible armchairs in gilded wood and tapestry, Louis XVI period - Boulard model

Pair of gilded wood convertible armchairs upholstered with their original fine wool and silk (Beauvais?) tapestry with motifs from La Fontaine's fables (The Raven and the Fox, The Pig, the Goat and the Sheep). Very beautiful model in wood gilded with gold leaf with a basket handle back, fluted legs and elegantly curved armrest supports carved with acanthus leaf. Very fine sculpture of water leaves and ribbons on all uprights. Parisian work from the Louis XVI period, from the mid-1780s.

Although our seats do not appear to bear a stamp (the upholstery has not been dismantled to verify this with certainty), our seats are of high quality and reminiscent of the work of Jean-Baptiste Boulard. A few years ago we sold a pair of armchairs by this master, of very comparable quality. It may be the work of Boulard or another Parisian seat carpenter of equivalent quality.

Jean-Baptiste Boulard (1725-1789) was a Parisian carpenter who received his master's degree on April 17, 1755. He started his production in the Louis an abundant production of Louis XVI style. Like Georges Jacob and Jean-Baptiste Claude Sené, Jean-Baptiste Boulard can be considered one of the best Parisian seat craftsmen of the second half of the 18th century. Like his two aforementioned colleagues, he worked both for a wealthy private clientele, including the Count of Choiseul, and for the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne. He thus participated in the furnishing of most royal residences. It was he who supplied a set of thirty-six richly carved chairs for Louis XVI's games room at the Palace of Versailles. Nowadays, many carpenter's seats are preserved in important public collections, notably at the Museum of Decorative Arts, the Carnavalet Museum, the Louvre Museum and the National Museum of the Palace of Versailles.

These beautiful seats have retained their original tapestry in good condition (slight wear, well preserved colors), which was reassembled using springs under Napoleon III, allowing it to remain taut and not sag. The old gilding is a little faded with small accidents, but has a beautiful patina.

Width: 60cm
Height: 92cm
Depth: 62cm
Seat height: 40cm

Ref: 407E069YBX