DESIGNED BY SYRIE MAUGHAM, 20TH CENTURY, IN THE LOUIS XV STYLE

These elegant chairs, with their low serpentined frames, evoke the comfort of Parisian fauteuils of the early eighteenth century, such as feature in 'The Reading of Molièiere' painted by Jean-Francois de Troy in the 1720s (P. Thornton, Authentic Decor, London, 1984, fig. 139). Their design is attributed to Syrie Maugham, who worked in London and New York and was one of the most celebrated 'lady' decorators of the 20th century. In the late 1920s she decorated her own Chelsea home in a light and airy manner, and her richly mirrored drawing-room was furnished with comfortable sofas and French fashioned chairs that were upholstered in whites and creams (illustrated A. and A. Gore, The History of English Interiors, Oxford, 1991, p.175).