CIRCA 1860

This slipper chair encapsulates both the style and the practicalities of design in the mid-19th century and by extension is the personification of the sumptuous domesticity known as 'le goût Rothschild.' The chair's form, with a lack of arms, is such that it allows easy usage by women. Called the 'slipper chair,' it was designed to allow the user easy, or easier, access to their own feet, although it is likely that a maid would also be involved with dressing. Encrusted with fashionable fringed and floral embroidered covers, this chair is typical of the 'occasional' furniture of the period and would have been regarded as the height of style and elegance.