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Lot Essay
This remarkable chair has the distinction of being the only known object publicly commissioned of Charles Honoré Lannuier that remains in private hands. One of a set of 24 chairs commissioned to furnish the Common Council Chamber of New York's City Hall, 22 remain in City Hall as part of the collection of City of New York. The whereabouts of the 24th chair is unknown.
Construction of the grand edifice of City Hall was begun in 1803, and took nine years and almost half a million dollars to complete. When the exterior of the building was nearly complete, Alderman Nicholas Fish and assistants Peter Hawes and Augustine H. Lawrence were authorized "to procure Suitable furniture" for the chamber. The furnishings committee for the chamber rushed to complete the interior in time for the Independence Day celebrations planned for City Hall, and authorized payment of Lannuier's April 25 invoice in July. He charged fourteen dollars each for the chairs, and appropriately embellished them with inlaid brass stars and tablets carved with ribbons and crossed flags, symbols of patriotism and government. The architect of City Hall, John McComb, might have designed the chairs, which draw on plates in Sheraton's "The Cabinetmaker & Upholsterer's Drawing Book," a reference that McComb is known to have owned. The upholsterer Henry Andrew was apparently responsible for upholstering the chairs, which may have been red originally. The presence of the set of chairs in City Hall is further documented in 1831 by a water color by Charles Burton, now in the New York Historical Society, which depicts several of the chairs in the Governor's Room. For a discussion of these chairs and of Lannuier's public commisions, see Peter Kenny, Honoré Lannuier, Cabinetmaker from Paris (New York, 1998).
Twenty-two of these chairs remain at City Hall, together with an additional two chairs of later manufacture, presumably made to fill out the set. While there are inexplicable slight variences in the dimensions and the details of the inlay of these chairs, the twenty-two chairs seem to be of the period and by Lannuier's shop. This armchair is identical to 16 of these chairs, in that the dimension across the top of the back is eighteen inches. As is the case with these 16 chairs still at City Hall, at some point in its history the feet of this chair were cut and supplied with castors. They have been restored in keeping with the restoration of the feet on eight of the City Hall chairs for the exhibition "Honore Lannuier, Cabinet Maker From Paris" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1998.
The circumstances and timing of this and one other chair leaving City Hall are not known. The whereabouts of this other chair are also unknown.
Only one other set of chairs made by Lannuier is known (Maryland Historical Society and The Metropolitan Musem of Art). The chair offered here is the only privately owned chair from a set by Lannuier, and the only publicly commissioned object by Lannuier known that is not in a public collection.
The circumstances and timing of this and one other chair leaving City Hall are not known. The whereabouts of this other chair are also unknown.
Construction of the grand edifice of City Hall was begun in 1803, and took nine years and almost half a million dollars to complete. When the exterior of the building was nearly complete, Alderman Nicholas Fish and assistants Peter Hawes and Augustine H. Lawrence were authorized "to procure Suitable furniture" for the chamber. The furnishings committee for the chamber rushed to complete the interior in time for the Independence Day celebrations planned for City Hall, and authorized payment of Lannuier's April 25 invoice in July. He charged fourteen dollars each for the chairs, and appropriately embellished them with inlaid brass stars and tablets carved with ribbons and crossed flags, symbols of patriotism and government. The architect of City Hall, John McComb, might have designed the chairs, which draw on plates in Sheraton's "The Cabinetmaker & Upholsterer's Drawing Book," a reference that McComb is known to have owned. The upholsterer Henry Andrew was apparently responsible for upholstering the chairs, which may have been red originally. The presence of the set of chairs in City Hall is further documented in 1831 by a water color by Charles Burton, now in the New York Historical Society, which depicts several of the chairs in the Governor's Room. For a discussion of these chairs and of Lannuier's public commisions, see Peter Kenny, Honoré Lannuier, Cabinetmaker from Paris (New York, 1998).
Twenty-two of these chairs remain at City Hall, together with an additional two chairs of later manufacture, presumably made to fill out the set. While there are inexplicable slight variences in the dimensions and the details of the inlay of these chairs, the twenty-two chairs seem to be of the period and by Lannuier's shop. This armchair is identical to 16 of these chairs, in that the dimension across the top of the back is eighteen inches. As is the case with these 16 chairs still at City Hall, at some point in its history the feet of this chair were cut and supplied with castors. They have been restored in keeping with the restoration of the feet on eight of the City Hall chairs for the exhibition "Honore Lannuier, Cabinet Maker From Paris" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1998.
The circumstances and timing of this and one other chair leaving City Hall are not known. The whereabouts of this other chair are also unknown.
Only one other set of chairs made by Lannuier is known (Maryland Historical Society and The Metropolitan Musem of Art). The chair offered here is the only privately owned chair from a set by Lannuier, and the only publicly commissioned object by Lannuier known that is not in a public collection.
The circumstances and timing of this and one other chair leaving City Hall are not known. The whereabouts of this other chair are also unknown.