Lot Essay
Georges Jacob, maître in 1765.
Arguably the most celebrated menuisier of the ancien regime, Georges Jacob (1739-1814) handed over the day-to-day running of his business to his sons in 1796. He did, however, very occasionally continue to supply seat-furniture to clients of longstanding right up until the time of his death and these prie-dieux, with their extremely avant garde use of Gothic motifs, are stylistically important pre-cursors of the Gothic revival movement that began to emerge in the 1820's.
The comtesse de Boigne, née Osmond, was married to one of the richest men in France. These chairs were almost certainly supplied for her Chapel at the château de Pontchartrain, near Versailles.
Arguably the most celebrated menuisier of the ancien regime, Georges Jacob (1739-1814) handed over the day-to-day running of his business to his sons in 1796. He did, however, very occasionally continue to supply seat-furniture to clients of longstanding right up until the time of his death and these prie-dieux, with their extremely avant garde use of Gothic motifs, are stylistically important pre-cursors of the Gothic revival movement that began to emerge in the 1820's.
The comtesse de Boigne, née Osmond, was married to one of the richest men in France. These chairs were almost certainly supplied for her Chapel at the château de Pontchartrain, near Versailles.