IN THE MANNER OF ALBERT EELTJES (1751-1836), CIRCA 1810

The Royal Palace on the Dam Square in Amsterdam houses one of the largest collections of Empire furniture outside France. This magnificent group of furniture was assembled by Louis-Napoleon, the Emperor's brother, who had been made King of Holland in 1806. Besides purchases from France, important commissions were entrusted to local cabinet-makers, such as Carel Breytspraak from Amsterdam, and Eduard Muller and Albert Eeltjes from The Hague. Eeltjes - who called himself faiseur de chaises - supplied a suite of seat-furniture, comprising a canap, sixteen fauteuils and twelve chaises. The legs of these pieces- with their accolade shape and distinctive scrolling feet - are extremely similar to the those of the present chairs, and may have been executed in the same workshop. (E. Fluerbaay, Empire in het paleis, Amsterdam, 1983, p. 40)
See illustration