This maple French fauteuil dates to the 1840-1860 and features fluted Sheraton legs, a deeply carved crest, dentil carving around the base and scrolled arms. While the chair has been reupholstered in a gold and green damask, it still retains its original horsehair stuffing. The chair’s back hints at the balloon-back shape which would soon dominate French furnishings in the 1870’s and 1880’s.
It’s likely that this chair was made for export from France to the U.K. where a demand for French-style furnishings was rapidly growing. The chair was purchased in London and brought to Texas for resale. It was the first in my collection of “chairs I don’t sit in.”
1 comment:
The 1840-60s was an usual period for furniture, because it was about this time that COMFORT became a goal of furniture manufacturers.
This is not to say that comfort had been previously ignored by furniture makers, but there was an expectation that "If it's too uncomfortable, bring your own cushion/s." However during the 1840s, particularly on the Continent, there was a social move towards (what would be called) cocooning. People wanted their homes to be as 'safe' and comforting as possible.
Furniture makers responded to the new mood by designing furniture with comfort as a key criteria. It is from this period that date inventions/advances in (for instance) 'spring' furniture, fully upholstered armchairs and the like. Even existing classic designs were reconsidered in view of the new desire for comfort. This appears to be one of those designs. In particular the shape of the seat appears to be engineered to suit the wide skirted gowns fashionable in this period.
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