Armchair

The origin and date of production of these unusual chairs (1910.5.24-31) are uncertain, but the style and quality of the carved wood frames suggest they were made in Paris around 1730 or in a French province ten to fifteen years later. On the other hand, the tapestries feature shadows cast by the bouquets on the ground color, a highly original refinement that appeared only in the late 1760s at the French Royal tapestry manufactory of the Gobelins and earlier in tapestries produced in the Netherlands. The latter origin is supported by the composition of bouquets of flowers and fruits with insects, birds, and small animals (dragonfly, moth, snail, and parrot) more common in the Netherlands than in France. The frames and tapestry covers may have been assembled at a later date.

Source: Vignon, Charlotte. The Frick Collection Decorative Arts Handbook. New York: The Frick Collection/Scala, 2015.

Rodolphe Kann, Paris. Duveen. Frick, 1910.

Source: Furniture in The Frick Collection: French 18th- & 19th-Century Furniture (Pt. 2) & Gilt Bronzes. Volume VI. New York: The Frick Collection, 1992.