armrests supports formed by carved figures of sphinxes; topped by fluted knobs; the back scrolling into rosetted ears and carved with acanthus leaf pattern; the seat rails carved with a rosette motif; on fluted spiral legs terminating in collars of plantain leaves

Armchair, c. 1796

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This chair came from a suite of furniture created for the royal Palace of Fontainebleau south of Paris. It is based on a pattern by the French architects and designers Charles Percier and Pierre François Léonard Fontaine, and executed by the master wood-carver and joiner Georges Jacob of Paris.

Percier and Fontaine played an important role in the development and spread of the Neoclassical style during the late 1700s. In 1801, they published the first installment of a highly influential pattern book with designs based on archaeological discoveries at the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum near Naples, Italy, which Percier and Fontaine sketched during their travels. The designers borrowed certain elements directly from those newly discovered sources, such as the sphinxes supporting the arms of this chair, as well as from Egyptian antiquity, seen in the sphinxes’ headdresses.

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Jacob, Armchair (#418)
Details
Title
Armchair
Artist Life
1764–1838
Role
Designer
Accession Number
81.102
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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armrests supports formed by carved figures of sphinxes; topped by fluted knobs; the back scrolling into rosetted ears and carved with acanthus leaf pattern; the seat rails carved with a rosette motif; on fluted spiral legs terminating in collars of plantain leaves