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Posted 3 years ago
ho2cultcha
(5051 items)
I found this chair at the Alameda Flea Market today. It shows plenty of wear and i can see where it's been reupholstered at least 3 times. Probably late 19th c. i love the gilding on it!
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So beautiful !~
ho2cultcha, Cool. :-)
That gilt scroll at the top is reminiscent of this furniture in 1958's "Gigi":
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051658/mediaviewer/rm245794560/
I love that particular furniture set from Gigi, but for me it isn't about the woodwork, but rather that exquisite upholstery. That furniture set probably got snapped up by an antique dealer when MGM had their big sale in the 1960s.
I suppose it could be Rococo or Rococo Revival?
What is not to like? Beautiful!
thanks Phil and vintagelamp! Keramikos - i thought the gilding and the woodwork looked a lot older than that. could gigi's set be a copy of an older set?
ho2cultcha, I don't know, but it's older than 1958.
I've long admired that couch and chair set from 1958's "Gigi," and because I watch a lot of old movies, I started noticing pieces of it in other MGM films.
So far, the newest movie I've seen a piece of it in is 1966's "Made in Paris," and the oldest is 1939's "Ninotchka."
There was an auction of MGM costumes and props in 1970. There are copies of the auction catalog floating around out there, but they're unholy expensive:
https://www.hollywood-memorabilia.com/mgm-auction-1970-costumes-props/
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1970-mgm-auction-catalog-david-weisz-541302264
I've idly wondered whether MGM acquired that set from a family of (formerly) well-to-do emigres from Europe fleeing the mayhem of WWII.
Me too!..beautiful..
Thanks keramikos and inky! great info! i wonder how i might research more about my chair?
the gilding on this chair is spectacular when in front of me. just wonderful!
ho2cultcha,
You already seem to know that it's been reupholstered at least three times, so that's a clue right there.
It has casters on the front legs. Are those a retrofit? Replacements?
FYI, furniture casters were first patented in the U.S. in 1876:
https://patents.google.com/patent/US174794A/en
That ribbon scroll on the top of the back is suggestive of Rococo/Rococo Revival, but then again, your chair doesn't have cabriole legs:
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/rococo-antique-furniture-4125877
It might be Louis XVI style:
https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/seating/armchairs/french-louis-xvi-gilt-arm-chair/id-f_1323960/
This stock photo doesn't really pin down the style, but it's gorgeous:
https://www.canstockphoto.com/old-antique-classic-style-vintage-gilded-51835241.html
Actually, what I know about antique furniture would fit on the head of a pin. >8-0
You need some expert help.
Here's a "Louis XVI carved giltwood fauteuil attributed to Georges Jacob; circa 1780":
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/467881848767153659/
This one has back legs like yours:
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/true-connoisseurship-the-collection-of-ezra-cecile-zilkha/a-louis-xvi-carved-giltwood-fauteuil-a-la-reine
Louis XVI Style Gilt-Wood Fauteuil with casters:
https://greenwaldantiques.com/catalogue/view/louis-xvi-style-gilt-wood-fauteuil/554/c34/
(I'm on a fauteuil kick now. Good thing I can just type that word, and not have to pronounce it.)
This isn't a chair, but it has a similar doodad at the top, which is described as a "ribbon-tied swag crest":
*snip*
A French Louis XVI style gilded wood mirror from the 19th century with carved ribbon-tied swag crest. This French gilt mirror features a rectangular frame, adorned with delicate "clochettes de campanules" (campanula) and bead-and-reel moldings, separated from one another by mirrored accents and petite rosettes. It is the crest however, that captures all of the attention with its magnificent ribbon-tied swag, whose lines are typical of the Louis XVI style.
*snip*
https://www.chairish.com/product/3091810/french-louis-xvi-style-19th-century-giltwood-mirror-with-ribbon-tied-swag-crest
So your search criteria perhaps should include giltwood, fauteuil, ribbon-tied swag crest, and Louis XVI. };-)
Napoleon III liked those ribbon crests, too:
https://www.epocasf.com/inventory/4966-french-napoleon-iii-giltwood-and-composite-oval-mirror-ribbon-crest-and-oak-laurel
Ribbon bow:
https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/mirrors/wall-mirrors/18th-century-french-louis-xvi-carved-oval-gold-leaf-mirror-ribbon-bow/id-f_6319453/
Sure would like to see another chair with that ribbon crest, though. :-(
Hmmm:
https://blossomfurnishings.com/the-louis-xvi-chair-style-insights-and-helpful-facts/
Your chair seems to be a bit of a hybrid of Louis XV and Louis XVI styles.
The arms are short, but the legs are straight.
i'm pretty sure that this chair is mid-to-late 19th c, in the George Jacob style.
Thank you for your hard work keramikos - albeit late! but gratitude nonetheless!
i think that my chair is based somewhat loosely on a chair belonging to Marie Antoinette. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/conservation-of-marie-antoinettes-chair
The underside of the chair seat might reveal more about the age.
scott