Jacob Desmalter - pair of chairs - Rambouillet model - Lelièvre fabric - Empire period

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Jacob-Desmalter
Pair of walnut imitation mahogany chairs
Pegged belts
Dimensions: H. 90 ; W. 45.5 ; D. 40 (cm.)
Paris circa 1805

These chairs are of a dining room model, with turned front legs molded into a double baluster, and saber-shaped back legs. The belt is molded on three sides. The back has an openwork "bar" board without a base. It is also flared at the top, and ends in rollers [1].

Both are stamped JACOB D. / R. MESLEE for the period 1803-1813.

This typology is found on the seats in the Emperor's
Emperor's apartments at Rambouillet and those preserved at Compiègne, whose origin has yet to be determined. Could it be the same? The order for Rambouillet mentions "walnut in imitation of mahogany". Nine of these chairs are kept at the Musée Marmottan, inventory numbers 215 to 223, Paul Marmottan legacy, others at Versailles and the Mobilier National.

François-Honoré-Georges Desmalter: the most fashionable Parisian cabinetmaker at the beginning of the 19th century, he employed over three hundred workers to fulfill imperial and private orders. The firm went bankrupt in 1813 when the imperial regime defaulted on its payments. François Honoré Georges Jacob Desmalter resurrected the company during the Restoration, regaining the Bourbon clientele for which his father had become so famous.

Condition report: old varnish and minor accidents, horsehair seats on straps and imitation horsehair fabric by Lelièvre.

References:[1] see description at Mobilier National, inventory numberGMT-7683-019Chairs from the same series at Mobilier National: GMT-11168

Ref: 5OR41NUK76