A Louis XV pair of Voyeuses chairs

In molded beech, resting on cambered legs. Velvet upholstery with blue stippled pattern on a cream background.
Stamped "L.C. CARPENTIER" on the back.

Louis-Charles Carpentier, master on July 26, 1752, died around 1787. Carpenter to the Duc d'Orléans, grandson of the Regent. He also worked for the Prince de Condé, furnishing the Palais Bourbon, the châteaux of Chantilly and Vanves, and the Hôtel de Lassay. His clients also included Baron Rolin d'Ivry, the Marquise de Brunoy and the Duchesse de Villeroy. Some of the pieces he supplied were created in collaboration with sculptor Charles Lachenais under the direction of architects Claude Billard de Bélisard (or Bellisard).

In 1780, Jean-Baptiste Sené joined forces with Louis-Charles Carpentier, whose workshop and business he had bought the previous year. This partnership seems to have lasted until 1783, when Sené remarried Marie-Louis Meunier, widow of carpenter Pluvinet.

"Following the heavy protocol established by Louis XIV, lightness appeared as early as the Regency to become a rule of life in 18th-century high society. People indulged all their passions, gambling being one of them.
In an intimate, elegant atmosphere, gamblers lost fortunes or, if they were lucky, amassed millions. Fortunate and demanding, they commissioned the best carpenters to make tables and chairs to suit their new needs.
This is how the voyeuses, voyeuses, ponteuses and even flamandes chairs came into being. Depending on the player's needs, the seat was either high or low, curved or fiddled; the armrests were upholstered or not. There were a few differences in design, but one constant was their perfect execution. Produced by the finest workshops, these chairs are extremely rare today, and perfectly illustrate the luxury and refinement achieved by the 18th century.

Musée du Louvre, seats stamped L.C. Carpentier :
• Mobilier des quatre parties du Monde (huit fauteuils à la Reine et deux canapés à joues, commandés par le fermier général Pierre-Isaac Marquet de Peire.
• Paire de fauteuils provenant du château d’Hénonville, commandé par le fermier général Jean-Baptiste Roslin d’Ivry.