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Lot Essay
The form of this pair of bergères relates closely to a pair, one of which is stamped by Jean-Baptiste Lelarge in The Wrightsman Collection and illustrated in F.J.B Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1996, vol.I, p.39-40, fig. 28. This pair of chairs also display a branded monogram of SC within an oval border, one of which is further marked with the letters GM below the oval, indicating a Royal history. Although this brand has yet to be identified it has been suggested that they could possibly be those of the Duc d'Orléans for the Garde-meuble of the Château de Saint-Cloud prior to its purchase by Louis XVI for Marie-Antoinette in 1785.
The stamp of I.B. Lelarge most likely refers to Jean-Baptiste III Lelarge, who used the same stamp as his father, Jean-Baptiste II Lelarge, (maître in 1738) who died in 1771, at which point his son took over his father's atelier. Jean-Baptiste III received his maîtrise in 1775 and quickly established a good reputation working for wealthy patrons both in France and abroad and also for the King of Portugal, although there is no mention of his name in the archives of the Royal Garde-meubles. A fauteuil with similar leaf-wrapped, spirally-fluted arm-supports and stiff-leaf molded rail by Lelarge is illustrated in P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIeme Siècle, Paris, 1989, p.503.
Although Lelarge is the principal candidate for the authorship of these bergères stylistically, there are certainly other menuisiers who were producing similar work at that date, particularly Jean-Baptiste Claude Séné and Georges and Henri Jacob. Interestingly, a canapé stamped H. Jacob, circa 1790, displays a similarly styled arm-support and carved seat-rail (illustrated in G. Janneau, Les Sièges, Paris, 1977, pl. XXIII, fig.a).
The stamp of I.B. Lelarge most likely refers to Jean-Baptiste III Lelarge, who used the same stamp as his father, Jean-Baptiste II Lelarge, (maître in 1738) who died in 1771, at which point his son took over his father's atelier. Jean-Baptiste III received his maîtrise in 1775 and quickly established a good reputation working for wealthy patrons both in France and abroad and also for the King of Portugal, although there is no mention of his name in the archives of the Royal Garde-meubles. A fauteuil with similar leaf-wrapped, spirally-fluted arm-supports and stiff-leaf molded rail by Lelarge is illustrated in P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIeme Siècle, Paris, 1989, p.503.
Although Lelarge is the principal candidate for the authorship of these bergères stylistically, there are certainly other menuisiers who were producing similar work at that date, particularly Jean-Baptiste Claude Séné and Georges and Henri Jacob. Interestingly, a canapé stamped H. Jacob, circa 1790, displays a similarly styled arm-support and carved seat-rail (illustrated in G. Janneau, Les Sièges, Paris, 1977, pl. XXIII, fig.a).