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.

Pavillon Frais Restoration

The garden of Le Pavillon Frais
near the Petit Trianon.
Photo: Versailles.

J'adore le treillage!  Yes, Bunny Williams' and John Rosselli's shop of course, but I am referring to the French term for architectural trellis-work, treillage.


Pavillon Frais with partial mock-ups
of the flanking arcades.
Photo: Versailles.

There is a small garden structure near the Petit Trianon at Versailles that is sometimes referred to as the Pavillon du Treillage because it was covered with trellis-work.  But the official website of the chateau refers to it as Pavillon Frais, so that name will be used here.  Both the building and the surrounding garden have recently undergone a very interesting restoration.


Drawing of Pavillon Frais dated December, 1751.
Image: Archives Nationales.

At the encouragement of Madame de Pompadour, King Louis XV settled at the Grand Trianon in 1749, away from the rigid court formality of the palace, and away from the courtiers who disapproved of her being the favorite of the king.  (Previously, the mistress of the king was of high noble birth, but Jeanne Antoinette Poisson who was given the title of Marquise by the king came from a non-aristocratic background, though she was particularly well-educated).  The royal architect Angel-Jacques Gabriel designed additional Trianon gardens and, in 1750, was asked to design a pavilion in the middle of a garden laid out in geometric beds, contrasting with the trend in English gardens for a more natural landscape.  Both the pavilion and the garden began to be known as "French" because of this new style.  A menagerie was added nearby, not for exotic animals, but for cows, chickens, and similar animals.  In 1751, another small pavilion designed by Gabriel was added consisting of a small dining room where the fresh products of the diary and vegetable gardens could be served;  this was known as the Pavillon Frais.



In this site plan, the Pavillon Frais is in the lower left corner
above the wording "Avenue".
The French pavilion is the shaped building above it.
Image: American Friends of Versailles.

The garden in front of the pavilion was surrounded by trellis-work creating a courtyard.  An arcade of trellis covered iron supports against a dense hedge flanked the pavilion, installed in July, 1752, at the same time as the trellis design covering the pavilion.


In this site plan detail, the Pavillon Frais
can be made out, backing up to the tree-lined avenue,
with the courtyard garden in front, above.
Image: Versailles.

The entrance to the garden consisted of lattice piers built around the trunks of lime trees pruned into the shape of spheres.  The main piers were like the pilasters of the pavilion and mounted with large wooden trellis urns.  Fifty-four smaller urns adorned the keystones of the archways of the arcades, each with an orange tree.  In 1756, statues of "Illness" and "Health" from the Antiques Room of the Louvre were placed on marble plinths at each end of the arcades.


This 1751 plan of Pavillon Frais by Gabriel has a reversed orientation
from the two previous garden plans,
with the northern direction towards the bottom.
Image:  Wikimedia.

The one room interior was primarily used for dining on pleasant spring and summer days, although there was a fireplace with a Languedoc marble chimneypiece.  The walls were painted boiserie decorated with carved floral garlands and inset sheets of mirrored glass.  The floor was a black & while marble checkerboard covered with a large Savonnerie carpet, commissioned in 1754 but not completed until 1760.  The furniture included two canapés and two fauteuils upholstered in green & white toile de perse, a chic but casual cotton fabric with a printed Persian floral design.  A later inventory also included sixteen assorted side chairs.


The interior of Pavillon Frais
as it appeared in 2013,
with representations of the boiserie.
Image: Wikimedia.

The pavilion was essentially destroyed in 1810, with only the foundation remaining, and the lattice courtyard enclosure was pulled down the next year.  Some restoration was begun in 1980, enabling the stone structure to be reconstructed, but more progress was realized when a support group, The American Friends of Versailles, took the project on.


The restored garden elevation of Pavillon Frais
by the office of the Chief Architect of Historic Monuments,
Pierre-Andre Lablaude.
Image:  the Facebook page of
The American Friends of Versailles.

Test pits and archaeological excavations found the original locations of the basins as well as fragments of their remains.


'Before' and 'After' views of Pavillon Frais
showing the restoration efforts of
The American Friends of Versailles.
Images: Facebook.

The fragments of the bottom of the basins revealed a mosaic design in marble that were reproduced in the restoration.


One of the pair of restored basins
in the garden of Pavillon Frais.
Image: Facebook.

The flanking arcades and courtyard enclosure have not been recreated, but a representation of how that would look is given with two flat theatrical mock-ups flanking the pavilion.


The back of the arcade mock-up
at the Pavillon Frais.
Image: Facebook.

The treillage on the building has been wonderfully restored, however, by the French company which specializes in such work, Tricotel.


The restored entrance doors of
Le Pavillon Frais.
Photo: Tricotel.



The original layout of treillage
was created for Pavillon Frais.
Photo: Tricotel.

With the success of the work so far, perhaps the recreation of the interior and the arcades will follow.  The American Friends of Versailles has also sponsored the restoration of the Trois Fontaines Bosquet and is dedicated to preserving interest in Versailles through seminars and educational exchanges as well as specific restoration projects at the palace and its gardens.


Le Pavillon Frais.
Photo: Tricotel.

Those more interested in plant material than garden structures will enjoy Elisabeth de Feudeau's book published in September, 2013, FROM MARIE ANTOINETTE'S GARDEN: AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY HORTICULTURAL ALBUM.  Based on archival documents, the book uses eighteenth-century illustrations to present the plants, flowers and trees loved for their beauty, scent, and herbal qualities.