Antique French Sofa in Velvet, 1830

Details

Description

A beautiful, fine and uniquely reimagined french two-seater sofa of outstanding quality in lovely condition. This superb and timelessly elegant … Read more A beautiful, fine and uniquely reimagined french two-seater sofa of outstanding quality in lovely condition. This superb and timelessly elegant sofa was expertly crafted in france, most likely around 1830. A marvellous melange of european design influences of the time, it has more recently been modernised with an antique-silver finish and gorgeous golden champagne-hued upholstery, giving this exceptional antique a luxuriously modern feel.

extremely comfortable and wonderfully versatile, this superb compact sofa epitomises traditional french elegance combined with the forward-looking, more minimalist grandeur of the biedermeier-influenced, post-imperial, restoration design movement. Neatly sized but reassuringly heavy, this lovely sofa will enhance any interior with gorgeous colouring, refined sophistication and graceful shapeliness.

unmistakably french but not overly opulent like some older french antique pieces, this stunning sofa lends itself perfectly to refined modern interior tastes. It features a beautiful sleigh shaped solid wood frontage, most likely of walnut or mahogany, scroll-carved in the biedermeier-influenced restoration period style of charles x, circa 1830.

the rare, shapely and very attractive squared and tapering front legs really set this sofa apart, as do the rear legs, squared and curved to follow the line of the shoulders and uncommonly positioned at an angle so that the piece can be admired from all sides. This suggests it was originally intended to be placed centrally in a drawing room where the whole piece, including the delightful border-carved frontage and floral scroll-end motif flourishes, could be fully appreciated.

this beautiful antique was tastefully reimagined around the turn of the 21st century, with no expense spared by a designer who was clearly accomplished, as the resulting modernised piece is outstanding. The wood was given a distressed antique-silver finish and the legs set on impressively sized, squared and tapering brass casters, while the firm and plump feather down upholstery was refinished in sumptuous champagne crushed velvet with double-piping to the front, adding an ultra-luxurious and timelessly refined aesthetic to this splendid quality antique sofa.

all in all this is a strikingly elegant and unique antique french sofa of superb quality, which has been gracefully reimagined for 21st century tastes of refined luxury. Extremely comfortable and versatile, it wouldn’t be out of place in a modern apartment or versailles parlour and is sure to shine with understated elegance in any interior.

condition
this sofa is in good-to-very-good condition. Solid, sturdy, structurally sound and expertly crafted, it was discerningly refinished and reupholstered around the turn of the 21st century and the only minor flaws are the purposeful nicks to the distressed antique-silver wood finish and some slight to-be-expected marks and wear to the upholstery, which are particularly hard to notice given the irregular and varied nap of the luxurious crushed velvet. Overall it's an understatedly marvellous and unique sofa in lovely condition and if well looked after it should remain so for many more decades or even centuries to come – please see the photos.

measurements
height – 91cm, width – 124cm, depth – 75cm, seat height – 53cm, max seat width – 100cm, seat depth – 47cm, est weight – 30-40kg. See less