Marie-Antoinette: Chic Chaises

A fauteuil en bergere made for
Marie-Antoinette's Salon du Rocher
in the garden of the Petit Trianon, Versailles.
Image: Christie's.

A single armchair sold last week for $2,714,250.  Yes, it was a very special chair, made especially for Marie-Antoinette as part of a suite to furnish the Belvedere Pavilion, her Salon du Rocher or teahouse, in the garden of the Petit Trianon.


The Belvedere Pavilion (and Grotto)
in the garden of the Petit Trianon.
Image:  World Monuments Fund.

The interior of the Belvedere Pavilion.
Image: World Monuments Fund.

 

The Belvedere Pavilion was built between 1778 and 1781 under the supervision of the queen's architect Richard Mique with interior decoration by Le Riche.  (A conservation effort was completed in 2012 supported by the World Monuments Fund).

The Belvedere Pavilion
in a modern watercolor by Andrew Zega from
PLEASURE PAVILIONS AND FOLLIES

The floor plan of the Belvedere Pavilion
showing the design of the marble floor
and the surrounding terrace as drawn by
Claude-Louis Châtelet in 1786.
Image: Bibliothèque de Modène.

The July 9, 2015 auction at Christie's, London, Sale 10670, was titled "Taste of the Royal Court: Important French Furniture and Works of Art from a Private Collection."  Far exceeding the estimate of $463,200 to $772,000, Lot 18 was described as a royal Louis XVI giltwood fauteuil en bergere. 


Side view of the fauteuil en bergere
from the suite made for the Belvedere Pavilion.
Image: Christie's.

A detail of the chair sold at auction last week
that had been made for Marie-Antioinette's
Belvedere Pavilion, Versailles.
Image: Christie's.

Another detail of the chair made for
Marie-Antoinette's Belvedere Pavilion.
Image: Christie's.

The auction notes listed Francois (II) Foliot as the maker, 1780-81, and attributed the design to Jacques Gondoin with the carving by either Mme. Pierre-Edme Babel or Toussaint Foliot.  A wax model by Gondoin showed an additional two legs at the front rail, suggesting that the existing rail might be a replacement from the end of the 18th or early 19th century.


The wax study model of the chair
attributed to Gille-François Martin, to the design
of Jacques Gondoin.  Paris, 1780. 1:7 scale.
Image: Musèe National des Châteaux des Versailles et de Trianon.

Originally, the suite was comprised of eight fauteuils en bergere (closed-arm chairs) and eight chaises (side chairs).  The carved beech was painted white, originally, with parcel-gilt detailing.  The major expense of the original suite, however, was the fabric, threads of gold and silver embroidered on silk.  Bills for payment for the chairs costing 20,000 livres, now in the Archives Nationale, were presented during the Revolution trial as evidence of Marie-Antoinette's lavish spending. (A gallon of wine at the time cost about one livre, a cow, 100 livres, and a horse, 250 livres).


A chaise from the suite, in the collection at Versailles.
The modern fabric is interpreted to be in keeping
with the original design concept.
Image: Syndicat National des Antiquaires.

The Getty Museum has four side chairs from this suite in their collection.  They were bought from the estate of Anna Thomson Dodge from Christie's in 1971.  The four chairs were one of the highlights of her impressive collection that furnished her Trumbauer-designed mansion, "Rose Terrace," in Grosse Point Farms, Michigan.


One of the four chaises in the Getty collection
now covered in modern fabric.
Image: getty.edu

Who was the buyer?  That has not been revealed, but the price would indicate that there were at least two very interested parties.  There was a special European Union document that allowed its shipment to the auction in London; apparently it was not from a private collection in France or there would have been issues on exporting such a historically important antique.  My guess is that the Getty Museum was the high bidder, but hopefully we shall see this chic chaise on public exhibition in the future.


Claude-Louis Châtelet's 1781 painting
"Illumination du Pavillon du Belvédère, Petit Trianon."
Image: Collection of the Palace of Versailles.

Read more in this series "Chic Chaises" here, here, and here.  Visit the regular on-line version of The Devoted Classicist to leave a comment or search the archives of past posts.

Valerian Rybar: Chic Chaises

The Dining Room, Candib residence,
Miami Beach, as decorated by Valerian Rybar.
Image: Architectural Digest.

As another chapter in the sporadic series on high-personality chairs associated with a person of equal stature, this post of The Devoted Classicist presents chairs from a project by interior designer Valerian Rybar.


A pair of chairs similar to those in the Candib photo
except that the fabric is different.  Pair "A" for reference.
From ebay at a date not recorded.

The Miami Beach residence of Claudette and Murray Candib decorated by Rybar was featured in the April issue of Architectural Digest and appeared on the cover.  Murray Candib has been credited with creating the first self-service department store and introducing the concept of shopping carts to his chain of stores, King's, that grew to over 200 by the time of his death in 2013 at age 97.  The Candibs led an active social and philanthropic lifestyle with their home on the shore of Biscayne Bay given the aura of a villa on the Rivera by Rybar.  The magazine article describes the Dining Room as having a ceiling painted as a skyscape and walls painted with green trompe-l'oeil treillage to give the effect of dining alfresco.  The floor is marble tile and the dining table is a single slab of green marble on ornate gilt wrought iron supports.  No reference is given for the chairs other than a mention that the fabric is from Stroheim & Romann.

A detail of the back support of Pair "A"

A detail of the painting of Pair "A"

Nine side chairs appear in the magazine photo, but it would be realistic to believe there was a set of at least twelve.  They are in the Italian neo-classical style of the last quarter of the eighteenth-century, but likely to be made in the twentieth-century.  Although not impossible, it is difficult to assemble a large number of antique chairs of this sort that would be suitable for use in dining. 


Pair "B" of chairs currently on ebay.
Seller: sourcemyeyefordesign

Adding to the desirablity, it appears that the inside face of each back is painted with a differnt scene of frolicking putti.  Regardless of the date, there is no denying that the chairs are chic. 

Detailing from the "B" pair.
Seller: sourcemyeyefordesign

Detailing from the "B" pair.
Seller: sourcemyeyefordesign.

The backs of the "B" pair show evidence
of previous upholstery.

Chairs, similar if not actually the same, have appeared in venues such as ebay, but not much information has been recorded.  Knowing there are no bounds to the facts at the fingertips of you Devoted Readers, I ask that all who might have more information please do sign in with a comment below (on the regular on-line blog site).


More chairs.  We will reference to these
as the "C" pair.
Image via William Merrill.

ADDENDUM:  Thanks to Devoted Reader Will Merrill for sending this image of a pair of similar chairs, perhaps from the same set, from a recent real estate offering of a David Alder house near Chicago.

Frances Elkins: Chic Chaises

The 'loop' chair attributed to Frances Elkins.
Two pairs sold at auction in 2009 for $5,938 each pair.
Sotheby's photo via The Magazine Antiques.

As mentioned in the previous post of The Devoted Classicist, here, the "loop" chairs from the collection of Bunny Mellon purchased from Mallet had provided inspiration for the noted twentieth-century decorator Frances Elkins to design her own version.  

Frances Elkins' inspiration:
the 1760s chairs as they appeared in
MALLET MILLENIUM: FINE ANTIQUE
FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART,
Image via The Magazine Antiques.

Francis Elkins was the sister of noted architect David Adler, but a noted interior decorator in her own right.  Although she completed stylish projects on her own, Elkins' most recognized commissions might be those fifteen collaborations with her brother where the architecture and interior design blended with ideal harmony. 


Frances Elkins' chairs in the Living Room
of Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Wheeler, Lake Forest, Illinois.
Ezra Stoller photo, 1934, via The Magazine Antiques.

The work of Frances Elkins came to be appreciated by a new generation with the monograph of David Adler that was published in 1970.  The Living Porch of the Muttontown, Long Island, New York home of Evelyn Marshall Field was published in the August, 1936 issue of "Vogue."  But it was not until Stephen Salny's much-admired book FRANCES ELKINS: INTERIOR DESIGN was published in 2005 that revived interest really took off.


Garden versions of the 'loop' chair in iron.
" . . from a home on Green Bay Road, Lake Forest, IL."
Formerly offered (sold) by Antiques on Old Plank Road.
Image via 1st Dibs.

Descriptions of the early versions of the chairs made for Elkins state they had a dipped or saddle seat like the antique models she undoubtedly had seen published in A HISTORY OFENGLISH FURNITURE . . or DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH FURNITURE . .  (These were the chairs that eventually ended up in the collection of Bunny Mellon, sold at auction last week).  Elkins' early versions also had a caned seat, also adding to visual lightness.  Later versions of the chair have been made, and continue to made today by various sources with adaptations to make them feasible for a more standardized fabrication and more sturdy for everyday use.


The late Albert Hadley's Dining/Sitting Room
in Naples, FL, photographed by Fernando Benoechea.
"Albert Hadley in Naples, Florida"

More can be read about Frances Elkins' chair, dubbed the "It" chair by "The Magazine Antiques," in a January, 2009, article by Shax Reigler and another in February, 2009; the second article mentions that the antique chairs from the collection of Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Tree were copied by Frederick Victoria & Son.  Also, an essay on the subject appeared in the blog of  Emily Evans Eerdmans.

Bunny Mellon: Chic Chaises

A detail of Bunny Mellon's chairs,
Lot 1301, Sale N09247.
Sotheby's, New York.

The Devoted Classicist has long wanted to present a series of posts about great chairs and their stylish owners, so here goes, starting with a remarkable set of seven black-japanned, parcel-gilt decorated dining chairs from the 1760s together with one armchair of a later date.  Although quite familiar to those interested in the decorative arts, the chairs have been brought into the spotlight as Lot 1301 in the auction of the estate of Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, November 21 to 23, 2014, Sotheby's New York.


Bunny Mellon's set of 'loop' chairs.
Lot 1301, Sale NO9247.
Sotheby's, NY.
Estimated: $60,000 to $80,000.
Sold: $181,000 (with buyer's premium).

In the provenance listed in the catalog, Sotheby's failed to mention a former owner whose name would have added even more prestige: Nancy Lancaster one of the great decorators of the twentieth-century and business partner of John Fowler in the legendary firm Colefax & Fowler.



The chairs as they appeared in
DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH FURNITURE.
Image via Emily Evans Eerdmans



As documented in an article by Shax Riegler in the January, 2009 issue of "The Magazine Antiques," the chairs were formerly owned by noted collector Frank Green, and illustrated in A HISTORY OF ENGLISH FURNITURE by Percy MacQuoid, first published in four volumes from 1904 to 1908.  (The chairs also appeared in the DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH FURNITURE, FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO THE LATE GEORGIAN PERIOD.) 


A chair from the same set appears when
"Country Life" magazine publishes photos
of the home of founder Edward Burgess Hudson
at 15 Queen's Gate, London.
Image via Country Life Picture Library.

By the early 1920s, the chairs were owned by Edward Burgess Hudson, founder of "Country Life," the magazine where MacQuoid was employed as a columnist.  Hudson died in 1936 and sometime in the mid-1930s, the chairs were acquired by his London neighbors on Queen Anne's Gate, Ronald and Nancy Tree.


The Yellow Bedroom at Ditchley Park
showing one of the side chairs.
Watercolor by Alexandre Serebriakoff.

After their divorce, Mrs. Tree became better known as Nancy Lancaster after her next marriage, with the chairs remaining at their grand country house Ditchley Park.  Two wonderful sets of watercolors were commissioned from Alexandre Serebriakoff as a record of Nancy and Ronald's decorating, and the chairs can be seen in the Yellow Bedroom and the Writing Room.


The Writing Room at Ditchley Park
showing the antique armchair.
Watercolor by Alexandre Serebriakoff.

With the sale of Ditchley Park, the chairs went to the Manhattan townhouse of Ronald and his second wife Marietta Tree.  Presumably they remained in New York until the auction following Ronald Tree's death as they appear on the cover of the October, 1976 Sotheby Parke Bernet auction catalog.


Cover of the 1976 auction catalog
showing two of the side chairs.
Image via Emily Evans Eerdmans.

The "Antiques" article stated that the chairs were bought by the London antiques dealer Mallet and appeared in both MALLET'S GREAT ENGLISH FURNITURE and MALLET MILLENNIUM: FINE ANTIQUE FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART.  In the 2009 article, Mallet's revealed that they had made the second arm chair and that the chairs were in a private American collection.


A Mellon arm chair, Lot 1301,
as it was displayed in the pre-sale exhibition.
Photo courtesy of Christopher Spitzmiller

The light graceful curves were made feasible through an innovative use of laminated beechwood.  The lacquered (or japanned) chinoiserie finish adds to the fanciful design but also conceals the layered construction.  However, the go-to craftsman for remarkable new ceramic lamps, Christopher Spitzmiller, said the chairs had a bit of "give" to the touch, making them more of an art object rather than chairs that were actually sat in for regular use.  Also noteworthy is the dipped or "saddle" seat, a characteristic found in other examples of the mid-1760s.


Views of the pre-sale exhibition at Sotheby's
showing the display of the eight chairs of Lot 1301.
Photo courtesy of Christopher Spitzmiller.

There is another chapter to come in the story of these chairs, of course, now that there is a new owner.  But, in addition, these chairs inspired a 20th century interpretation popularized by Frances Adler Elkins.  That will be another post of The Devoted Classicist.

And Furthermore

 

The Devoted Classicist has been a fan of the late Rachel "Bunny" Mellon since her contributions to the gardens at the White House.  Starting with the Rose Garden in 1961 and then the East Garden, dedicated as the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden in 1965, the heiress (Listerine) who married into an even larger fortune attracted attention in the community of those appreciating the mix of the formal and informal in residential garden design.  In the early 1990s, an Attingham classmate who was a foundation employee working from the Brick House gave me some insight into the then-relatively-private Mellons and their 4,000 acre estate (now about 2,000 acres listed for sale with 40 structures for $70 million) Oak Spring Farm near Upperville, Virginia. 

Auction catalogs can be an invaluable resource for studying (both fine and) the decorative arts.  However, interior views shown in catalogs are routinely rearranged to give a better representation of the lots offered; too seldom are they an accurate record of the original setting.  Nor can the descriptions be counted on as 100% accurate, even in the most prestigious and expensive catalogs.

Despite declarations from self-appointed tastemakers and arbiters of style/design that traditional decoration is passé, there has been a media frenzy surrounding Interiors, the three day auction of the furnishings from the estate of the late Mrs. Mellon with proceeds to benefit the Gerard B. Lambert Foundation, a horticultural foundation which will continue to operate the library at Oak Spring.  While it is true that spare, neutral, do-it-yourself schemes still remain the most popular trend in interior design, clearly there is still interest in antiques and decoration among those in-the-know.  This successful sale is a reminder that one should follow one's own taste and not what is the so-called current fashion.