Pair of Antique Painted Curule Armchairs in the style of Jean-Joseph Chapuis

A very decorative 'curule' settee, late 19th century after a design by Jean-Joseph Chapuis. Provenance: Madeleine Castaing, Maison de Lèves, Chartres, France. Why we like it Besides the iconic provenance, this bench is a great example of the 19th century design, informed by classical antiquity. Decorated in the exotic 'Etruscan' style to simulate patinated bronze, with its dramatically exaggerated curves, evoking the ancient Roman 'sella curulis' - a symbol of magisterial power, this settee is truly a special example of its kind. A squab cushion covered in a fabric complimenting other textiles in the existing interior will complete the look of this super-stylish bench. Provenance – Madeleine Castaing Together with a pair of armchairs en-suite (sold by us in may 2022), this settee was photographed in the vestibule at Maison de Lèves near Chartres - country house of the iconic French interior designer and antiques dealer Madeleine Castaing (1894–1992). Madeleine married the heir and art critic Marcellin Castaing – the legendary love of her life – who in the 1920's acquired a neoclassical gentilhommière at Lèves, that she had been admiring since her days in a convent school nearby, for her to "unwind" as he explained. The house would become one of her masterpieces as she discovered her own vocation for interior design. Extant photographs reveal a number of changes that had been made to the interiors over time. The writer Maurice Sachs once wrote about Madeleine's passion for her home: “The constant transformations she made to the estate kept her as busy as the world can keep a socialite…”. The contents of Maison de Lèves as well as Castaing's Rue Jacob...

An exceptional pair of George III style giltwood armchairs, 19th century copies of one of Thomas Chippendale's most beautiful models. English, c. 1890. Why we love them Design The present armchairs belong to a large group of ornate drawing-room seat-furniture, conforming to Thomas Chippendale’s documented patterns. Although a further research is required to reveal its definite 18th-century provenance, the combination of stylistic and constructional features of the known pieces allow to confidently attribute this model to Chippendale’s workshop. According to Christopher Gilbert, ‘Chippendale employed certain well-defined design types which could be elaborated or simplified according to a patron’s taste or purse. He never repeated a pattern exactly, but his standard chair forms and ornamental permutations, combined with special technical features amount to a statement of authorship’. Apart from ornament under the front seat rail and a slightly different decoration of the armrests, the present pair of chairs is virtually identical to a set of four armchairs from Harewood House, Yorkshire, illustrated in Christopher Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, 1978, vol. II, p. 108, fig. 182. The four armchairs were sold by the 7th Earl of Harewood at Christie’s, London, 1 July 1965, lot 55 and bought by the celebrated London antiques firm, Mallet & Son Ltd., who subsequently sold them in pairs (illustrated in Lanto Synge, Chairs, 1978, pl. 55a and Lanto Synge, Great English Furniture, 1991, p. 101). One of a set of six armchairs, identical to the present examples, is illustrated in Christopher Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, 1978, vol. II, p. 108, fig. 183, as ‘representative of numerous unprovenanced suites which conform to Chippendale’s standard documented patterns’. The provenance of these six chairs can be traced back to the 1950’s, when they were bought from Scotney & Son Antiques of Stamford, Lincolnshire, by Charles Lumb & Sons Ltd. of Harrogate, Yorkshire, for £600 (Frank Lumb, An Appreciation From His Many Friends, 1993, pp. 31–32). Other chairs from this group are known, one sold at Sotheby’s London, 4 December 2013, lot 489 (£42,500), described as acquired from Mallett & Son Ltd., London, 20th October 1967. Interestingly, Mallett’s receipt of sale indicates the armchair came from the Drawing Room at Harewood House. Another identical armchair, from the collection of Henry Ford II, was sold Christie’s, New York, 17 October 1981, lot 172 ($13,000), subsequently with Loyd-Paxton of Dallas, Texas, offered at Heritage Auctions, 1 November 2007, lot 33454. A further armchair from this group was exhibited by Ronald Phillips...

A sexy pair of broad-scaled, white-painted Regency style armchairs with accents picked out in gold, after a design by Henry Holland for 1st Earl of Harewood (1740-1820) for Harewood House, Yorkshire, England. The original armchairs, supplied to Harewood at around 1810 by the London firm of William Marsh and Thomas Tatham (illustrated in P. Macquoid, The History of English Furniture: The Age of Satinwood, London and New York, 1908, pp. 236-237), were sold at Christie's, London, 13 December 2019, lot 128. William Marsh and Thomas Tatham established a highly successful firm of cabinet-makers counting the Prince of Wales amongst their patrons and for whom they supplied significant amounts of furniture, both for Carlton House, London, and the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, under the direction of Henry Holland. They were known for producing furniture in the favoured spare classical fashion of the Regency to designs reflecting the drawings of antique ornament...

A fine pair of bronze-painted and gilt side chairs of Klismos form English, circa 1825. Why we like them A timeless Klismos design, bea...

An exceptionally fine pair of mahogany armchairs in the Empire taste, raised on superbly sculptural winged lion monopodiae and  with exquisitely detailed neoclassical decoration. Two...

An outstanding pair of George II period hall armchairs in black walnut, of unusual 'Windsor' design.   England, circa 1740–50. Why we like them Items that are not merely quirky, bu...

Neoclassical green painted and gilt armchair with caned seat. After a model by Jean-Joseph Chapuis. The front legs retain their brass casters, the rear legs are missing the casters.

Despite his long life, very little is known about the general production of menuisier (chairmaker) Jean-Joseph Chapuis (1765-1864) and even less about his use of bent laminates, which must be viewed as the most advanced of its kind until the appearance of Michael Thonet’s work of the 1830s. The profound reverence for the classical world in enlightened circles in early 19th century Europe and the United States often resulted in the archaeological resurrection of the art, architecture, and design of ancient Greece and Rome. No chair employing the innovative technique of bending wood more boldly expresses this allegiance to the past than this armchair painted in le style antique and based on the ancient Roman sella...

Dramatic Empire style curule leg armchair featuring an ebonized lacquer finish. Decorated with neoclassical gilt embellishments depicting mermaids and mythi...

Mahogany Curule style open armchair in the manor of the design of Thomas. Hope. This attractive late 19th century chair has a moulded X frame facade with a central carved reeded rand...

Pair of leather and iron armchairs after Jean Michel Frank Stock number: MD2.

An Italian pair of Neoclassical style armchairs from the early 20th century. This antique pair of accent chairs from Italy are each carved with n...