Lot Essay
This richly carved armchair is identical apart from slightly smaller proportions and differing upholstery to a pair of fauteuils la Reine and matching canape in the Palazzo Quirinale (illustrated in A. Gonzales-Palacios, Il Patrimonio Artistico del Quirinale: Gli
Arredi Francesi, Milan, 1995, pp. 152-155, figs. 14-15). The suite in the Quirinale is undoubtedly of Parisian origin and bears various inventory marks from the royal palaces of Parma. It can therefore be identified as having formed part of the magnificent furnishings ordered in Paris in the 1750's by Madame Louise-Elizabeth (1727-1759), Madame
Infante, eldest daughter of Louis XV, who in 1739 married Infant Don Philippe of Spain and in 1748 became duchesse de Parma. Gonzales-Palacios attributes the suite to the menuisier Jean-Baptiste Tilliard, who on 10 August 1755 billed the court of Parma for a large quantity of seat furniture.
The suite, whose gilding is undoubtedly Italian, was probably delivered from Paris ungilt and disassembled. It is probable that it was then gilded by Francisco Ramoneda, official gilder to the court at Parma (ibid.,p. 152).
In the absence of any inventory marks on the chair offered here, it cannot unfortunately be linked directly to the Quirinale suite. However it is possible that it was made by a Parma chairmaker, either to enlarge the suite for Madame Infante or for another member of the court. It is certainly known that Madame Infante patronized local
craftsmen, as demonstrated by the fact that a pair of Italian armchairs with royal Parma inventory numbers was recently offered at auction in Paris. Interestingly, the Quirinale suite was originally upholstered in crimson velvet edged with gold thread, as referred to in contemporary accounts and as demonstrated by an identical canape
upholstered in this way that appears in a 1765 portrait of the Duke of Parma by Laurent Pecheux (illustrated in A. Gonzales-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto, La Toscana e l'Italia Settentrionale, Milan,
1986, vol. II, p. 229, fig. 447). However, another fauteuil which appears to match this suite is visible in a 1757 portrait of the Duke of Parma by Giuseppe Baldrighi and appears to be upholstered in a plainer silk damask, indicating the possibility that more than one version of the suite may have existed (illustrated in A. Gonzales-Palacios, op cit; Gli Arredi Francesi,p. 14, fig. 1).
Arredi Francesi, Milan, 1995, pp. 152-155, figs. 14-15). The suite in the Quirinale is undoubtedly of Parisian origin and bears various inventory marks from the royal palaces of Parma. It can therefore be identified as having formed part of the magnificent furnishings ordered in Paris in the 1750's by Madame Louise-Elizabeth (1727-1759), Madame
Infante, eldest daughter of Louis XV, who in 1739 married Infant Don Philippe of Spain and in 1748 became duchesse de Parma. Gonzales-Palacios attributes the suite to the menuisier Jean-Baptiste Tilliard, who on 10 August 1755 billed the court of Parma for a large quantity of seat furniture.
The suite, whose gilding is undoubtedly Italian, was probably delivered from Paris ungilt and disassembled. It is probable that it was then gilded by Francisco Ramoneda, official gilder to the court at Parma (ibid.,p. 152).
In the absence of any inventory marks on the chair offered here, it cannot unfortunately be linked directly to the Quirinale suite. However it is possible that it was made by a Parma chairmaker, either to enlarge the suite for Madame Infante or for another member of the court. It is certainly known that Madame Infante patronized local
craftsmen, as demonstrated by the fact that a pair of Italian armchairs with royal Parma inventory numbers was recently offered at auction in Paris. Interestingly, the Quirinale suite was originally upholstered in crimson velvet edged with gold thread, as referred to in contemporary accounts and as demonstrated by an identical canape
upholstered in this way that appears in a 1765 portrait of the Duke of Parma by Laurent Pecheux (illustrated in A. Gonzales-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto, La Toscana e l'Italia Settentrionale, Milan,
1986, vol. II, p. 229, fig. 447). However, another fauteuil which appears to match this suite is visible in a 1757 portrait of the Duke of Parma by Giuseppe Baldrighi and appears to be upholstered in a plainer silk damask, indicating the possibility that more than one version of the suite may have existed (illustrated in A. Gonzales-Palacios, op cit; Gli Arredi Francesi,p. 14, fig. 1).