CIRCA 1805

Details

AN EMPIRE GILTWOOD MARQUISE
CIRCA 1805
With padded back, arms and seat covered in gold silk damask, with Egyptian mask arm supports and studded supports, on paw feet, the underside stenciled N-489,1780 and 3525, and inscribed in pencil Lepine

Provenance

Probably supplied to the Château de Neuilly.
With Alain Demachy, Paris, 1982.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 19 October 2007, lot 247.

Special notice

Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

Lot Essay

The marque au feu 'N' is possibly that of the château de Neuilly. Originally built in 1751 for Marc-Pierre de Voyer de Paulmy, comte d'Argenson (1696-1764), Neuilly subsequently belonged to Talleyrand and Joachim Murat, one of Napoleon's most distinguished generals who married Napoleon's youngest sister Caroline. When Murat was made King of Naples in 1808, Neuilly, together with its contents passed to his sister-in-law Pauline, Princesse Borghese. In 1818 the Duc d'Orléans, later Louis-Phillipe of France (1773-1850), bought the château and commissioned the architect Pierre Fontaine to refurbish it. Particularly favored by Louis-Philippe, during his reign (1830-48) the marque au feu of the château was altered to include his initials and numerous examples of items stamped 'N' with the additional 'LP' initials survive, however fewer examples stamped with simply the 'N' exist. A set of Louis XVI armchairs by Georges Jacob with the N marque au feu was sold from Millden, Christie's London, 20 January 2005, lot 112.

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