A suite of Louis XV white-painted seat furniture, circa 1735, by Jean Gourdin called 'Père Gourdin'

Collection of Madame André Saint;

Galerie Jean Charpentier, Me Etienne Ader, Paris, 20–21 May 1935, lot 146;

Christie’s, London, 21 September 2022, lot 5

Bibliographie comparative :

Bill Pallot, L’Art du siège au XVIIIe siècle en France, Paris, 1987

G. Janneau, Les sièges : le mobilier français, 1993, Paris

C.-P. Wiegandt, Régence, Louis XV, Paris, 1994

Related Literature :

Bill Pallot, L’Art du siège au XVIIIe siècle en France, Paris, 1987

G. Janneau, Les sièges : le mobilier français, Paris, 1993

C.-P. Wiegandt, Régence, Louis XV, Paris, 1994

This suite, stamped ‘I.G.’, corresponds to the early phase of production by Jean Gourdin, known as “Père Gourdin” (d. 1764), who was received as maître-menuisier in 1715 and established his workshop rue de Cléry, under the Saint-Jacques sign. He was active until the mid-1760s and is known to have worked for prominent patrons such as the marquis de Bercy and the duchesse de Mazarin, whose hôtel was renovated by Nicolas Pineau from 1937 onwards. The stamp ‘I.G.’ appears to have been used by Gourdin before 1748, at which point he began marking his work as ‘Père Gourdin’ to distinguish it from that of his sons, particularly Jean-Baptiste, who had recently joined the workshop after becoming a maître.

The caned back and seat, combined with the fluid rocaille carving and restrained proportions, place this set within the early Louis XV period, still marked by Régence lines. Comparable examples by Jean Gourdin, including caned seat furniture dated slightly later (circa 1745–1755), are preserved in public and private collections, such as the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris (inv. A2258), and a salon illustrated p. 117 in L’art du siège au XVIIIe siècle en France. Elements such as the curvature of the legs or the design of the seat rails find echoes in the work of contemporaries like Nicolas Heurtaut and Nicolas-Quinibert Foliot, with whom Gourdin shared formal affinities during the Régence and early Rococo period.

This suite was formerly part of the collection of Madame André Saint (1879–1955), dispersed on 20th and 21st May 1935. A photograph from the sale catalogue shows the set in natural wood, upholstered in green damask with foliage motifs. Its current presentation — with caned seats and backs and white-painted surfaces — reflects a decision by a later owner to restore what may have been its original appearance.