BY JOSEPH-PIERRE-FRANÇOIS JEANSELME, MID-19TH CENTURY

The stamp 'JEANSELME' was used by Joseph-Pierre-François Jeanselme between 1840 and 1853. He belonged to a dynasty of furniture makers who were active from 1824 until 1930, during which time various stamps were used. In 1847 the Jeanselme family acquired the contents of the Jacob-Desmalter firm and this suite of seat-furniture is closely related to models made by Jacob-Desmalter in the early 19th Century, such as that illustrated in L. de Groër, Les Arts Décoratifs de 1790 à 1850, Fribourg, 1985, fig. 246. A pair of related giltwood fauteuils supplied by Jacob-Desmalter to Prince Louis Bonaparte and his wife Hortense de Beauharnais was sold anonymously, Christie's London, 12 December 1996, lot 179; while a further set of four fauteuils plus two side chairs, stamped Jacob D. R. Meslee, was sold anonymously, Christie's London, 12 April 1984, lot 66.