- 49
A PAIR OF LOUIS XV CARVED AND TINTED BEECHWOOD FOLDING STOOLS |
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 EUR
bidding is closed
Description
- Haut. 55 cm, larg. 59 cm, prof. 55 cm ; height 21 2/3 in., width 23 1/4 in., depth 21 2/3 in.
on a folding X stand, the legs linked with stretcher, upholstered with green velvet ; (originally painted)
Catalogue Note
The ployant is a form of stool without arms or folder folding in two. Its base consists of two uprights forming a X, connected by one or two sleepers.
Also called pliant, its origins can be traced back to antiquity, being related to itinerant habits during the wars of ancient Rome, and later in the Middle Ages, in the context of feudal struggles.
Later, under Louis XIV, we find richly decorated ployants, which were intended for his courtiers. It was then a piece of court furniture corresponding to a well-defined position of the label. Indeed, during his dinner and his supper, Louis XIV always ate in public in the antechamber of the Grand Couvert at Versailles. The king invited to his table the sons, daughters, grandchildren and granddaughters of France, who were distributed on both sides of the sovereign according to their proximity to the throne. If the court was invited to look at him, only twelve ladies had the right to our famous bender. The tradition continued under Louis XV and Louis XVI.
Our pair of finely carved wooden planks of flowers, reminiscent of a model of a suite of four, Louis XV period, carved wood, lacquered and regilt sold at Sotheby's New York, November 9, 2006, under lot 4.
It is also reminiscent of the Rothschild collection at Waddesdon Manor, a walnut carved ployant from the Louis XV period, gilded in the 19th century (The James A. Rothschild collection at Waddesdon Manor, Furniture, Vol II, 643).
Also called pliant, its origins can be traced back to antiquity, being related to itinerant habits during the wars of ancient Rome, and later in the Middle Ages, in the context of feudal struggles.
Later, under Louis XIV, we find richly decorated ployants, which were intended for his courtiers. It was then a piece of court furniture corresponding to a well-defined position of the label. Indeed, during his dinner and his supper, Louis XIV always ate in public in the antechamber of the Grand Couvert at Versailles. The king invited to his table the sons, daughters, grandchildren and granddaughters of France, who were distributed on both sides of the sovereign according to their proximity to the throne. If the court was invited to look at him, only twelve ladies had the right to our famous bender. The tradition continued under Louis XV and Louis XVI.
Our pair of finely carved wooden planks of flowers, reminiscent of a model of a suite of four, Louis XV period, carved wood, lacquered and regilt sold at Sotheby's New York, November 9, 2006, under lot 4.
It is also reminiscent of the Rothschild collection at Waddesdon Manor, a walnut carved ployant from the Louis XV period, gilded in the 19th century (The James A. Rothschild collection at Waddesdon Manor, Furniture, Vol II, 643).