Armchair (fauteuil à la reine) Carved and gilded walnut, late 17th-century wool velvet (not original) H. 46-1/2 x W. 28 x D. 23-1/4 in. (118.1 x 71.1 x 59.1 cm) Purchase, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, by exchange, 1983 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 522 French Furniture in the Eighteenth Century: Seat Furniture The Golden Age of French Furniture in the Eighteenth Century European Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Highlights of the Collection Notable Acquisitions, 1983–1984 The Wrightsman Galleries for French Decorative Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (42,421) Object Type / Material Armchair (part of a set) Armchair (fauteuil) from Louis XVI's Salon des Jeux at Saint Cloud Armchair (Fauteuil à la reine) (one of a pair) Armchair (fauteuil à la reine) (part of a set) Armchair (bergère) (part of a set) XV of France, born in 1710, is the great-grandson of Louis XIV
and was officially crowned in 1722. furniture is associated with the French Louis XV style. into cabinets that were carved in shallow relief and fanciful patterns of tortoiseshell and ivory inlaid on layers of veneer. decorated this high-style furniture. Curved lines and asymmetry became the rule and was expressed in the elaboration of surface ornament. The fashion for Chinese lacquer had anNew items appeared: chiffoniers, writing desks with flaps, card tables, roll-top desks, wooden panelling, and ladies' furniture: dressing tables, chairs with short armrests, desks,A taste for secrecy, which pervaded society, resulted in multiple hiding places incorporated in articles of Louis XV furniture which opened with springs. Caned chairs and canap�s were extremely fashionable under Louis XV, and they were fitted with loose seat cushions. were generally made of beech, There were almost one hundred exotic woods, covering practically the
entire range of different colours used in marquetry work. wood, which has a fine grain and is a good medium for carving, was used for chairs, tables, commodes, cupboards and other similarThe wood was often painted or in gold leaf. bronze ornamentation was an essential part of some items. Rocks and shells with foliage and flowers dominated the theme of the ornament with blossoms, sprays and tendrils, reeds, branches of palm The acanthus leaf, originated in ancient Greece, often elaborately serrated and fringed became very long and narrow. Especially fashionable themes were musical instruments, such as the violin, flageolet and tambourine, hunting and fishing, symbols of love, such as bows, arrows and torches, and pastoral emblems, such as crooks and the large straw hats of shepherdesses.Scandal has struck Versailles after police arrested two respected antiques dealers on suspicion of selling fake Louis XV chairs to the famed royal chateau, sending France’s high-end antiques world into “panic”.
Art fraud officers detained the two dealers for questioning were both Paris-based experts in 18th century furniture. They are suspected of selling two fake chairs out of a batch of four to the Chateau at Versailles, home of Louis XIV, for €1.7m (£1.3m). If their suspicions prove founded, commentators warned the ramifications could prove the “ruin” of France’s antique furniture market and leave a string of museum curators and even government ministers red-faced. The French art fraud office, OCBC, began investigating the two antiques dealers, Bill Pallot, a chair specialist, and Laurent Kraemer, owner of the Kraemer gallery – one of Paris’ oldest – in 2012. They started the probe after receiving letters of denunciation from another French antiques dealer, Charles Hooreman, a renowned specialist of 18th century chairs – considered among the most refined in French history. Over the past 20 years, Versailles has bought 10 antique out of a total of 13 chairs built by Louis Delanois - the master chair maker who built a batch in 1769 for Madame du Barry, Louis XV’s mistress - along with one 19th century copy recognised as such.
However, according to Mr Hooreman, the so-called “originals” are in fact recent copies. Among these are at least two out of four bought in 2009 from Kraemer’s, founded in 1875 for 1.7 million. France’s culture ministry then hailed the chairs as “national treasures”. Mr Hooreman said he first started having doubts about their authenticity when he realised that too many were in circulation, given that another six of were sold in Christie’s in New York in 2001. In all, 12 were built plus a slightly larger version for Louis XV himself, which has been lost. “I have seen them all, handled them, examined them. Versailles has 10, (a) Swiss collector two, and I know another that is impeccable belonging to a Parisian collector,” he told Le Monde. Mr Kraemier, however, dismissed the claims, telling the paper: For us this furniture is perfect. What’s more they’ve been classified as national treasures, which means they were studied and analysed over several weeks, then appeared before a commission.
For me, as for (the commission), they are genuine.” Jean-Jacques Aillagon, the former culture minister and president of Versailles when the chairs were bought concurred, saying: “Everyone would have had to be blind or in on it, which I cannot believe.” While experts at Versailles insist they have found nothing at fault, one antique furniture restorer told Le Monde: “For us others, the 18th century stops in 1914. In fact you can even push as far as the Second World War. Until then, most workshops used the same techniques, the same materials and tools as those of the time. If a piece of furniture was made properly, there is very little chance of being detected as fake.” Expert forgers have easy access to old wood and are even known to sprinkle dust from churches dating back to the right period to cover their tracks. Mr Hooreman insists the tops of the chair legs are wrong and that the etiquettes are « modern » and the wood on their underside is “not discoloured as it should be”.