A fine suite of Empire mahogany seat furniture circa 1800, in the manner of Jacob Frères with two later canapés

comprising six fauteuils, two stools and a pair of later canapés; the padded backrests with reeded top rail flanked by lion's head finials, the armrests in the form of winged sphinxes continuing to legs and paw feet; with bow-fronted seats; the curule-form stools similarly carved with lion's heads and paw feet; upholstered in tan suede. 10 pieces.

Partridge Fine Arts, London

Acquired from the above, 2002

Illustrated, Partridge Fine Arts, Catalogue 2001, no. 53, pp. 128-129.

Winged Egyptian sphinx-like figures appear with some frequency in the drawings of Percier and Fontaine used in a variety of ways from decorating entablatures, to being incorporated in pieces of furniture.  It is a recurring device in the repertoire of the Jacob family of menuisiers.  It was employed by the paterfamilias, Georges Jacob on a suite of giltwood seat furniture with carved winged armrests supported on an Egyptian figure comparable with those on the present suite, above a similar animal-form leg with paw feet.  This suite was made circa 1790 for the marquise de Marbeuf (illustrated,  P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Français du XVIII Siècle, Paris, 2002, p. 464-465.

This decorative device was also used during the partnership of Jacob Frères; see a suite delivered in 1798 to Madame Récamier which has Egyptian winged sphinxes supporting the wooden armrests; and similarly used by Henri Jacob (Kjellberg, op. cit. p. 474 and p. 479).