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拍品專文
By the celebrated ébéniste Nicolas-Quinbert Foliot, this superbly carved pair of pliants relates closely to the furniture supplied by the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne to the French royal court. Indeed, few forms relate to the royal court as closely as the pliant. Throughout the eighteenth century the use of furniture was strictly regulated by hierarchical codes; courtiers were required to be seated on pliants in the presence of the King or Queen, who alone were allowed a chair with arms. It is therefore no surprise that the inventory of Louis XIV's mobilier lists no fewer than 1,323 pliants at Versailles. The tradition survived until the end of the ancien régime, and even Marie-Antoinette, always keen to decorate her private apartments fashionably, furnished her Grand Appartement with pliants and tabourets.
Born to a distinguished family of ébénistes, Foliot received his maîtrise in 1729 and soon left his father’s tutelage to establish a workshop on the rue de Cléry in Paris. Over the following decades Foliot’s work came to exemplify the Louis XV style, of which the present pliants are an important example. Boldly carved throughout with scrolling foliage, they typify the ornate naturalism of the mid-eighteenth century in France.
Perhaps Foliot’s most renowned body of work was the furniture he supplied to the royal court. In 1749, the French statesman René-Louis de Voyer de Paulmy (1694-1757), marquis d’Argenso, noted that the Ducal Palace in Parma was lacking any decoration. It is therefore unsurprising that in the following year Louise-Élisabeth, the eldest and favoured daughter of Louis XV, and Don Philip of Spain declined residence there when awarded the Duchy of Parma. But Louise-Élisabeth soon travelled to Versailles and where she commissioned an extensive group of furniture with which to furnish the Ducal palace. Foliot was amongst those who supplied furniture for the commission, and an armchair, or fauteuil à la reine currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (07.225.57) belongs to this group. Much like the present pliants, the armchair’s rococo form emerges from the naturalistic carving of acanthus leaves, c-scrolls and foliage.
Foliot’s work for the Duchy of Parma was not isolated. Throughout his career, Foliot worked as one of the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, supplying furniture for the royal court, a position also held by his eponymous father, Nicolas Foliot. Documented commissions include furniture supplied to the châteaux of Versailles, Fontainebleau, Trianon, Saint-Hubert and Compiègne. Foliot is also recorded as having supplied furniture to the Royal Castle of Stockholm, on which renovations had taken place between 1729 and 1753 under the direction of Carl Harler. Along with Foliot, Louis Cresson and Charles-Francois Normand are also recorded as having supplied furniture, and given the documented exchange of craftsmen between France and Sweden, it is possible that these pliants, discovered in Sweden over half a century ago, were commissioned for the Swedish royal court.
Amongst the most significant related pliants are eight currently in the collection at Versailles, which include two pairs by François I Foliot (V 4949⁄4950, and VMB 14640⁄14641) and four by Nicolas-Quinbert Foliot (C 60-018 ½/3 and 4).
Born to a distinguished family of ébénistes, Foliot received his maîtrise in 1729 and soon left his father’s tutelage to establish a workshop on the rue de Cléry in Paris. Over the following decades Foliot’s work came to exemplify the Louis XV style, of which the present pliants are an important example. Boldly carved throughout with scrolling foliage, they typify the ornate naturalism of the mid-eighteenth century in France.
Perhaps Foliot’s most renowned body of work was the furniture he supplied to the royal court. In 1749, the French statesman René-Louis de Voyer de Paulmy (1694-1757), marquis d’Argenso, noted that the Ducal Palace in Parma was lacking any decoration. It is therefore unsurprising that in the following year Louise-Élisabeth, the eldest and favoured daughter of Louis XV, and Don Philip of Spain declined residence there when awarded the Duchy of Parma. But Louise-Élisabeth soon travelled to Versailles and where she commissioned an extensive group of furniture with which to furnish the Ducal palace. Foliot was amongst those who supplied furniture for the commission, and an armchair, or fauteuil à la reine currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (07.225.57) belongs to this group. Much like the present pliants, the armchair’s rococo form emerges from the naturalistic carving of acanthus leaves, c-scrolls and foliage.
Foliot’s work for the Duchy of Parma was not isolated. Throughout his career, Foliot worked as one of the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, supplying furniture for the royal court, a position also held by his eponymous father, Nicolas Foliot. Documented commissions include furniture supplied to the châteaux of Versailles, Fontainebleau, Trianon, Saint-Hubert and Compiègne. Foliot is also recorded as having supplied furniture to the Royal Castle of Stockholm, on which renovations had taken place between 1729 and 1753 under the direction of Carl Harler. Along with Foliot, Louis Cresson and Charles-Francois Normand are also recorded as having supplied furniture, and given the documented exchange of craftsmen between France and Sweden, it is possible that these pliants, discovered in Sweden over half a century ago, were commissioned for the Swedish royal court.
Amongst the most significant related pliants are eight currently in the collection at Versailles, which include two pairs by François I Foliot (V 4949⁄4950, and VMB 14640⁄14641) and four by Nicolas-Quinbert Foliot (C 60-018 ½/3 and 4).