Louis XVI period salon stamped Demay, Ministry of Finance inventory number - 7 pieces

Lounge furniture comprising a suite of 3 cabriolet armchairs, 2 lounge chairs, 1 cabriolet-back bergère and a 3-seater à la Reine sofa. Queen model with basket-handle back and elegantly molded plumes, fluted legs and finely carved connecting dice. Parisian work of the Louis XVI period. Almost all seats (except 2 armchairs and the sofa) are stamped Demay. All seats bear a stencilled inventory number, with the letters MF (MF335 for the armchairs, MF336 for the chairs, MF337 for the bergère, MF338 for the sofa).

The initials MF stand for Ministère des Finances. The numbers "in hundreds" suggest an early 19th century inventory (whereas Second Empire inventory numbers are "in thousands"). It could therefore be the Hôtel de Lionne, rue des Petits Champs in Paris (Ministry of Finance from the end of the Ancien Régime to the Restoration), or the Hôtel du Mont-Thabor, rue de Rivoli, headquarters of the Ministry of Finance from 1824 to 1871.

Jean-Baptiste Bernard Demay (1759-1848), Master in 1784, was one of the great chair carpenters who practiced in Paris, on rue de Cléry like most of his colleagues. Although he began his career under the ancien régime, he quickly achieved a certain success, supplying Queen Marie-Antoinette (Petit Trianon). He continued his career after the Revolution, changing his stamp. He was successful from the Consulate to the end of the Empire, with a highly polished production. Today, many of the joiner's chairs are held in important public collections, including the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the Musée Carnavalet, the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Musée National du Château de Versailles.

Seats for amateurs: sober in appearance, our seats are designed and built to the exacting standards of one of Paris's greatest 18th-century chair makers. Comparisons with other basket-handle cabriolets of the same quality are indisputable. The prestigious provenance, which has not yet revealed all its secrets, is also a plus.

Our seats are in good condition: the joinery is sound (reinforcement under one chair, central rear leg missing on the sofa), they are covered in sky-blue Louis XVI-style silk faille, faded to light grey, with some wear and stains. The upholstery is sound, only the fabric needs changing, although it can be kept as it is for everyday furniture. We can have it upholstered to new by our upholsterer (contact us).

Sofa:
Length: 176cm
Depth: 73cm
Seat height : 38cm
Seat height: 79cm
Armchairs :
Width: 59cm
Seat height: 40cm
Height : 93,5cm
Bergère :
Width: 66.5cm
Seat height: 44cm
Height: 100.5cm
Chairs :
Width : 49cm
Seat height: 44cm
Height: 93.5cm

Ref: BQU9BSPTFY