Her Majesty's Furniture: A Chinoiserie Settee, 1760-1770

Click image to enlarge

Settee
England, 1760-1770
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the mid-Eighteenth Century, wealthy English homes often featured pieces of furniture in the popular Chinoiserie style which was, at the time, associated with the work of famed cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale. Though Chippendale championed Chinoiserie, furniture in the delicate style was produced by a variety of furniture designers and makers. Chinoiserie saw a revival in the Nineteenth Century during which, between 1850 and 1900, a host of newer pieces were created using Eighteenth Century designs as models.

The piece pictured above, a settee, is likely to have been built during the earliest rise of the Chinoiserie look, perhaps sometime between 1760 and 1770. Since this settee has been made in one of the more prolific designs of the Nineteenth Century, some historians suggest that it’s a later piece. However, the carving and construction all point to Eighteenth Century creation.

The two-chair-back settee is made of carved mahogany, and features open arms and an upholstered seat raised on six square legs. The two raked chair backs boast one wide and two narrow panels of open fretwork which are framed by moderately splayed back stiles and a top rail carved with blind fret and a pierced pagoda cresting.

Her Majesty's Furniture: The Stephens Settee, c. 1870

Settee
French, c. 1870
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Part of a sumptuous suite which also contains four matching armchairs, this handsome settee represents the clever reproductions of then-already-antique furnishings which were made in the Nineteenth Century in France. The frame is a fairly accurate facsimile of a settee which was made in the 1770s or 1780s by Jean-Baptiste III Lelarge. Lelarge was the third generation of a monumental dynasty of Parisian chair-makers.

The tapestry with which the seat and back panel are upholstered seems to really date from the Eighteenth Century. They were, perhaps, originally made for a suite by Lelarge or one of his kin. The present frames were made to fit. The frame of beech features lovely carving including floral motifs of forget-me-nots. The name of the maker is now lost, it we believe it was made between 1870-1890.

The suite once belonged to Mrs Lyne Stephens who bequeathed the group to The V&A in 1895. Mrs. Stephens was the principal dancer at the Paris Opera from 1831 to 1837. There, she performed under the stage name of Marie-Louise Duvernay. Later in life, she devoted herself to her husband, as well as to religion, philanthropy and collecting fine French Decorative Arts. 

The Home Beautiful: A Chinoiserie Settee, 1760-1770

Click image to enlarge

Settee
England, 1760-1770
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the mid-Eighteenth Century, wealthy English homes often featured pieces of furniture in the popular Chinoiserie style which was, at the time, associated with the work of famed cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale. Though Chippendale championed Chinoiserie, furniture in the delicate style was produced by a variety of furniture designers and makers. Chinoiserie saw a revival in the Nineteenth Century during which, between 1850 and 1900, a host of newer pieces were created using Eighteenth Century designs as models.

The piece pictured above, a settee, is likely to have been built during the earliest rise of the Chinoiserie look, perhaps sometime between 1760 and 1770. Since this settee has been made in one of the more prolific designs of the Nineteenth Century, some historians suggest that it’s a later piece. However, the carving and construction all point to Eighteenth Century creation.

The two-chair-back settee is made of carved mahogany, and features open arms and an upholstered seat raised on six square legs. The two raked chair backs boast one wide and two narrow panels of open fretwork which are framed by moderately splayed back stiles and a top rail carved with blind fret and a pierced pagoda cresting.