CIRCA 1690

A rare survivor, this luxurious Louis XIV lit du repos would have played an important role in the etiquette of the day, as the nobility received company in their beds. Over forty-eight examples appear in the inventories for Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV, including one in the 'cabinet où le Roy tint conseil' covered in red velvet. The artist Jean Le Pautre published elaborate designs for daybeds as early as 1670 of which a related model was sold from a private collection at Christie's, New York, 21 May 1996, lot 352. A lit du repos with a script monogram was sold from the collections of Baron de Redé and Baron Guy de Rothschild at Sotheby's, Monaco, 25-26 May 1975, lot 302. Another related example was sold from the collection of Jacques Garcia at Sotheby's, New York, 27 October 1990, lot 77. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, showed a similar lit du repos which was formerly in the collection of Madame Lopez-Willshaw in their 1960 exhibition Louis XIV Fast et Décors May-October 1960 (No.4) which was subsequently sold at Sotheby's, Monaco, 26-27 May 1980, lot 612.