BY NOEL POIRIE, MID-18TH CENTURY

Noël Poirié probably received his lettres de maîtrise around 1730, at which time he is mentioned as one of the menuisiers working in the rue Beauregard. He then moved his atelier to the rue de Clery, where he worked for the remainder of his life supplying Louis XV style seat furniture from his playfully named shop 'Au Poirier' (Pear Tree). While his production remains relatively unknown, his stamped chairs are of noble proportions and delicate design, and typically employ finely carved naturalistic ornaments such as leaves and flowerheads, such as in the present example.