A pair of Louis XVI mahogany caned fauteuils, circa 1780, stamped by Pierre Garnier

Maybe one of the 36 armchairs commissioned from Pierre Garnier by the Marquis de Marigny (1727-1781) for his Hôtel de Massiac, Place des Victoires in Paris.

Related literature :

S. Eriksen, lettres du marquis de Marigny à son ébéniste Pierre Garnier, Furniture history, The journal of the Furniture History Society, 1972, p78-85

P. Verlet, Styles, meubles, décors, du Moyen Âge à nos jours, Paris, 1972, p. 66

P. Verlet, Les Meubles français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1982, p. 38

B. Pallot, L’art du siège au XVIIIe siècle en France, Paris, 1987, p. 19.

P. Kjellberg, Le mobilier français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 2002, p. 854

C. Huchet de Quénetain, Pierre Garnier, 1726/27-1806, Paris, 2003, p. 114-117

D. Alcouffe, Le 18e aux sources du design : Chefs d’œuvres du mobilier 1650-1790, Paris, 2014, exh. cat. Versailles Castle, 26 octobre 2014 – 22 février 2015, p. 234-235, n°71

Philippe Garnier, cabinetmaker, received master in 1742.

the marquis de Marigny's Anglomania

From the 1770s onward, a taste emerged for simple mahogany furniture and seating in the English style. The Marquis de Marigny was one of the first to appreciate English furniture. His taste had been shaped during his trip to England in 1756 and 1757. As early as 1769, the Marquis de Marigny commissioned mahogany furniture from the London merchant Cremer for his various residences.

The commission for the Hôtel de Massiac

In a letter dated October 22, 1778, Marigny commissioned Garnier to order a set of twenty-two, then twenty-four armchairs, and then twelve more in 1779 to furnish the dining rooms of his Hôtel de Massiac on the Place des Victoires. He also asked the craftsman to make an exact copy of a "stake table" that he had brought from London the previous year.

The armchairs we are presenting are quite characteristic of this production, made entirely of mahogany, with a flat, square back and tapered legs. The English influence is most evident in the shape of the armrests and the interplay of simple, unadorned surfaces. One of the armchairs was exhibited in the Palace of Versailles exhibition The XVIIIth, sources of Designs : Masterpieces of furniture, 1650-1790, 26 october 2014 – 22 february 2015 and come from the Heurtaut collection (Sotheby’s, Monaco, 23 February 1986), then Edmond et Lily Safra Collection.