Lot 73
  • 73

A Louis XV/Louis XVI carved beechwood fauteuil à la reine attributed to Jean Boucault circa 1760

Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 USD
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Description

  • height 40 1/2 in.; width 30 in.; depth 24 1/2 in.
  • 103 cm; 76 cm; 62.5 cm

Condition

Feet previously with later casters. One foot retipped. Repairs to three other feet. One leg spliced. Some worm damage to legs. Minor repair to the back of the seat rail. Originally gilded. Crack to the front seat rail, and some rubbing. The back with small cracks and filled in nail-holes and some discoloration.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

This remarkable chair is en suite with four fauteuils and a canapé stamped by Jean Boucault now in the Louvre, Paris (see: Bill G.B. Pallot, Le Mobilier du Musée du Louvre, vol. II, Dijon, 1993, p. 87) and acquired from the collection of Mme. Walter-Guillaume in 1959. Four others from this set have been sold at auction recently: a pair, one of which was stamped twice by Boucault, was sold Christie's, London 9 June 1994, lot 97; a fauteuil sold Sotheby's, Amsterdam 20 October 2001, lot 56; a fauteuil sold from the collection of Karl Lagerfeld, Christie's, Monaco 28-29 April 2000, lot 30 (also illustrated Bill G. B. Pallot, The Art of the Chair in Eighteenth Century France, Paris, 1989, pp. 34-35 and 131). This last fauteuil, previously in the Fabre and James de Rothschild collections was sold in 1980 for what was at the time considered a record price for a single chair (Paris, Palais d'Orsay, 18 March 1980, lot 91). The chairs in this set, which could reasonably be considered as Boucault's masterpiece, owe much to the work of his contemporary Nicolas Heurtaut: see B. Pallot, op. cit., p. 131 for a comparison between the work of these two makers showing a very fluid design broken up by dramatic curves particularly to the arm rests.

Jean Boucault (c. 1705-1786), maître menusier in 1728 worked in the rue de Cléry, Paris, in a house belonging to Nicolas Tillard. He worked with the sculptor Jean Valois. The inventory drawn up by Charles Cresson and Nicolas Foliot following the death of his wife in 1737 lists ten benches and numerous sièges à rouleaux. Among his most important clients were the duc de Choiseul, Louise-Elisabeth, duchese de Parme and prince Camille de Lorraine. The celebrated set of chairs provided to the duc de Choiseul are illustrated on the famous box painted by Louis Nicolas van Blarenberghe circa 1770-1771.