A Consulat mahogany bergère with scrolled backrest

This armchair is characterised by its bold curves: its two sabre-shaped legs are topped at the front by two beautiful arm brackets and at the back by the powerful spiral of an outward scrolled padded back. The plain mahogany armrests are carved with lotiform motifs and palmettes.
Paris by 1800

Numerous French ornamentalists have produced models of chairs with scrolled paded backrest, including Jean-Jacques Lequeu in 1786 for the Hôtel de Montholon, and Jean Demosthène Dugourc who, in his memoirs published in 1800, claimed that he was the first, to set an example of using the Arabesque or Etruscan style, not only in architectural decorations, but also in hangings and furniture. Called ‘Turkish’ under Louis XVI, then ‘Etruscan’ at the turn of the 18th century, it was fashionable to give these innovative forms names that symbolised exoticism and novelty.