A Régence giltwood and needlepoint fire screen first quarter 18th century, with the coat-of-arms of the Cardinal de Polignac

the shaped frame with serpentine top rail, centered by  coat of arms of the Cardinal de Polignac, flanked by flowerheads and wave motifs, the shaped sides, similarly carved, raised on scrolled trestle supports, carved with bell-flowers, shell motifs and acanthus leaves, with a contemporary petit-point needlework screen, depicting a flower-filled vase and foliate rinceau.

Melchior, Cardinal Polignac (1661-1741)

Kraemer & Cie., Paris

Melchior de Polignac (1661-1741), a scion of the ancient Polignac family, was the son of Louis-Armand, Vicomte de Polignac, Marquis de Chalençon, Baron de Châteauneuf. He became ambassador to Poland in 1693; he was a negotiator of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) and was appointed Cardinal-diacre in the same year. He was subsequently created Archbishop of Auch in 1726 and Ambassador to Rome from 1724 to 1732. He was elected to the Académie française in 1704, at the Académie des sciences in 1711 and the Académie des Inscriptions in 1717.