Set of Four Directoire Mahogany Side Chairs with Brass Banding

Set of 8 partially Early 19th German Biedermeier Saxe-Coburg provenance chairs: 3 chairs with inventory stamp of Ehrenburg Palace in Coburg (soth Germany)/House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 5 chairs hand-crafted after their model in the late 20th century: a trapezoidal seat on four slender saber-shaped legs; curved, shovel-shaped back with carved and ebonized central motif depicting a lyre. All chairs upholstered with black horsehair fabric. 3 chairs of the set of 8 show the inventory stamp of the famous Ehrenburg Palace in Coburg / South Germany and are documented in the Ehrenburg inventory register. According to a letter from the Bayerische Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlösser, Gärten und Seen, Munich from 1991, the chairs were sold or disposed of in the 1920s at the latest (see photo). In order to be able to use the chairs in a dining room, the former owner had added five more chairs in the late 20th century, which had been elaborately hand-crafted after the model of the three Ehrenburg Palace chairs by a German furniture maker. Ehrenburg Palace was built and used by the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg (and Gotha from 1826 on) as a representative town residence. Duke Ernst I (reigned 1806–1844) began to remodel Ehrenburg Palace only a few years after he came to power. It was then that the building acquired its impressive neo-Gothic façade, designed by the architect Karl Friedrich von Schinkel. For the furnishing of the rooms, Duke Ernst I commissioned the French architect André-Marie Renié-Grétry. Between 1816 and 1840 the apartments were renovated in the French Empire style on the basis of his designs and filled with magnificent furniture...

Very elegant late 19th century set of six Italian Neoclassical Klismos shaped Empire side or dining chairs: standing on four tapering and partially fluted legs topped by paterae ca...

All six frames featuring swan shaped brass inlaid motifs strikingly silhouetted against ebonized panels within brass moldings, over hand carved lyre-shaped splats replete with brass 'strings'. The frames also featuring brass strung stiles, front seat rails & sabre-leg front supports. All are in exceptionally sound condition due to the classical construction method of using oak as the secondary wood for added strength & durability. The swan motif was highly favored by cabinetmakers & mount makers during the Directoire Period and was associated with Napoleons consort Josephine, by interpreting her protective nature towards her children like that of a swan towards it's cygnets). For comparative examples see works by Charles Percier...

"Set of 6 Austrian Secessionist style side chairs with low back and slat design with an upholstered seat. Condition consistent with age"