PAIR OF LOUIS XV CARVED BEECHWOOD FAUTEUILS

Upholstered in an old, but not original leather covering

Stamped L. CRESSON on reverse of each chair back rail

Paris, circa 1750

34 3/4" H x 22 1/2" D x 27 1/2" W x 15" H to seat

In this pair of Louis XV period fauetuils, the menuisier has achieved a remarkably fine line traveling through the frame, one of endless undulation and sumptuous movement. The chairs are stamped to the reverse of the back of the chair rail L. CRESSON for Louis Cresson (born 1706, maitrê in 1738) of the famous Cresson family of Parisian chairmakers. Cresson was somewhat unusual in his frequent stamping of the visible outside of the chair rail for unpainted walnut chairs, along with fellow menuisiers Nogaret and Lapierre (see Verlet, p. 191). The form of the chair is characterized by a cupid's bow apron, graduating arches in the crest that are symmetrically opposed in the bottom of the chair back, and terminating over tapered cabriole legs with scrolled toes. The design is not unique to Cresson, as the same model was followed by other major chairmakers contemporary to him (for example, see the fine painted bergere circa 1755-60 stamped by Jean-Baptiste Gourdin, Pallot, p. 73), but his handling of the swirls, curves and tapers in each element is executed with an unusually fluid hand. Both chairs are upholstered in an early, but not original, brown leather with a tacked edge. 

Condition: Sturdy and tight joints throughout. The leather is not original, but is quite early, having many restorations throughout: recoloring, one with a more advanced craquelure to the seating area and associated coloring of exposed leather. Overall the leather remains perfectly serviceable. Several replaced pegs, including added pegs through the handholds into the arm supports. Other repairs and restorations. All four back toes are old replacements. The underside of the chair shows numerous areas of spliced in wood to repair losses from upholstery and insect damage. Inactive insect damage throughout. Ready to place.

Literature & References:
The Art of the Chair in Eighteenth-Century France, Bill Pallot, 1989
French Furniture of the Eighteenth Century, Pierre Verlet, 1991
L'Art et la Maniere des Maitres Ebenistes Français au XVIII Siecle, Nicolay, 1976
Le Mobilier Français du XVIII Siecle, Pierre Kjellberg, 1989

ref. 604BDN01A