French Napoleon III Giltwood SpindleBack Chair in the Louis XVI Taste Circa 1870

Details

Description

A decorative giltwood side chair made in France during the Napoleon III period, drawing on Louis XVI vocabulary — fluted, … Read more A decorative giltwood side chair made in France during the Napoleon III period, drawing on Louis XVI vocabulary — fluted, tapered front legs and an overall neoclassical silhouette — while layering in the more exuberant turned and carved detailing typical of mid-to-late 19th-century French eclecticism. The tall back is fitted with a gallery of tightly spiral-turned (barley-twist) spindles between bobbin-turned uprights, capped by an arcaded, scroll-carved giltwood rail and a plush, tufted bolster crest shaped for comfort. The generously proportioned seat retains its original striped silk-and-chenille jacquard upholstery, woven with a floral vine motif in burgundy and gold tones, and is trimmed along the seat rail with a giltwood bead molding. The chair rolls on its original brass and ceramic casters, a detail that helps date the piece to the second half of the 19th century.
The tall, cushioned back rail — designed for a sitter to rest folded arms on while facing the chair backward — recalls the form of an 18th-century French voyeuse or ponteuse, the low chair used by spectators at card tables, reimagined here in a more decorative Victorian-era idiom.
Condition: gilding shows attractive wear consistent with age; upholstery shows some soiling and minor fraying at the front seat rail (visible in photos) and would benefit from reupholstery, though it is presentable as-is for a layered, collected interior. See less