PAIR OF LOUIS XV PERIOD "À LA REINE" ARMCHAIRS Carved... Lot 56

PAIR OF LOUIS XV PERIOD "À LA REINE" ARMCHAIRS Carved and gilded wood, the backrest and waistband decorated with asymmetrical rocaille cartouches amid foliate scrolls, the shoulders with foliate motifs, the inverted console legs surmounted by a foliate cabochon, upholstered in 18th-century Aubusson tapestry with polychrome decoration of poppies on a blue background, label numbered "357/46". under the belt of one of the two, "357" for the other H.:94,5 cm (37 ¼ in.) l.:71 cm (28 in.) A pair of Louis XV giltwood fauteuils a la reine Although unstamped, the overall proportions and ornamental richness of the carvings on this pair of fauteuils à la reine bear witness to the finest 18th-century Parisian joinery. The asymmetrical ornamentation of the belt and back in the purest rocaille spirit is combined with classically-inspired "roll" feet, enabling us to date these chairs to the 1730-1740 period. In particular, their profile refers us to the repertoire of the famous Parisian ornamentalist Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754), a celebrated architect and sculptor who, during the first half of the 18th century, expressed remarkable expertise in the art of ornament, making a major contribution to defining the lines of the Rocaille style. Indeed, our chairs can be traced back to a drawing (cf. fig. 1) by Nicolas Pineau, now in the Musée des Arts décoratifs (Inv. A 4501) and illustrated in B.G.B. Pallot "L'Art du Siège au XVIIIe siècle en France", A.C.R. Gismondi Éditeurs, 1987, p. 121. Last but not least, these armchairs are embellished with a precious 18th-century poppy tapestry characterized by a rare vivacity and freshness of color; a comparable tapestry is found on a sofa attributed to Foliot in the Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome, illustrated in B.G.B. Pallot, "L'Art du Siège au XVIIIe siècle en France", A.C.R. Gismondi Éditeurs, 1987, p. 147, or on a pair of frame armchairs from the former Dassault collection, sold at Artcurial Paris, June 16, 2022, lot 4.