Set 12 Louis XVI Style Ebonized and Gilt Dining Chairs

Details

Description

This impressive suite of twelve ebonized and parcel-gilt dining chairs, comprising ten side chairs and two armchairs, is a particularly … Read more This impressive suite of twelve ebonized and parcel-gilt dining chairs, comprising ten side chairs and two armchairs, is a particularly handsome interpretation of the French Louis XVI and Directoire neoclassical traditions. The dramatic combination of polished black frames, restrained gilded ornament, and pale ivory upholstery gives the ensemble a formal architectural quality reminiscent of the sophisticated interiors of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century France.

Stylistically, the chairs occupy an interesting position between Louis XVI and Directoire design. Their straight, disciplined lines, rectangular upholstered backs, square seat rails, tapered legs, rosettes, and classical gilt ornament belong to the neoclassical vocabulary established during the Louis XVI period. The stronger contrast of ebonized black against gold, together with the increasingly austere geometry, anticipates the Directoire taste that followed the Revolution. Sotheby's notes that late Louis XVI neoclassical chair forms provided an important foundation for Directoire seating, with classical ornament becoming especially characteristic of the succeeding period.

Each chair features a tall rectangular upholstered back enclosed within a broad ebonized frame, its subtly shaped crest lending just enough curvature to soften the otherwise architectural design. The seats are generously upholstered in a coordinating ivory damask-patterned textile, whose understated tone-on-tone decoration provides a luxurious counterpoint to the black and gold framework.

Below, the chairs stand on slender tapering legs, embellished with restrained vertical gilt details. Particularly attractive are the square corner blocks at the tops of the legs, each decorated with a gilt classical rosette, while additional gilded foliate ornament enriches the upper portions of the supports. These carefully placed accents give the chairs richness without disturbing their essentially neoclassical restraint.

The two armchairs are especially decorative. Their long, slender arms sweep gracefully forward to gilt sculptural terminals, providing a ceremonial quality appropriate for placement at the heads of a large dining table.

Perhaps the most important feature of this ensemble, however, is simply its size and completeness. A set of twelve should not be regarded as merely six pairs of chairs. Large matching suites were expensive when commissioned, were subjected to generations of daily use, and were frequently divided through inheritance, changing interiors, estate dispersals, or individual damage. Consequently, preserving twelve chairs of one design together becomes progressively more difficult with time. The antiques trade itself recognizes this distinction: BADA has described complete twelve-chair suites as rare survivors and notes that good long sets are increasingly difficult to find.

Major auction records illustrate the point particularly well. Christie's has offered twelve-chair ebonized and parcel-gilt suites in which some chairs were later replacements, while another set contained documented minor variations. This demonstrates why a cohesive matched set of twelve has significance beyond the decorative merit of the individual chairs: completeness itself is an important attribute.

When arranged around a substantial dining table, these chairs would create a magnificent rhythm of black ebonized frames, ivory upholstery, and carefully controlled gilding. Their combination of classical proportion, dramatic coloration, and restrained ornament makes them equally compatible with Louis XVI, Directoire, Empire, and sophisticated neoclassical interiors.

Above all, it is the survival of the full twelve-chair ensemble—ten dining chairs accompanied by two matching armchairs—that makes the set especially desirable. Elegant individually but considerably more impressive collectively, they represent the type of substantial formal dining suite that is increasingly difficult to assemble or replace once separated.


Dimensions: 35.5 inches high x 23 inches wide x 23.75 inches deep. Seat Height 21 inches. See less