Jacob Frères, Imperial Chair Delivered For Louis Bonaparte And Hortense

Chair
Mahogany and mahogany veneer
Pegged joints
Stamp marks on front crossbar JACOB FRERES / RUE MESLEE and JACOB D./R. MESLEE
Label on rear crosspiece
Dimensions: H. ; Seat H. ; W. ; D. (cm.)
Paris, circa 1803-4

Rare Consulat-Empire period chair in blond mahogany. It stands on heavily ringed front legs and saber-shaped back legs. Full belt, triple-molded backrest and finely pierced crosspiece. Scroll moldings. Very interesting presence of the stamps of the Jacobs' two successive company names, which date this chair to around 1803-4. This dating is corroborated by the title of Prince, worn by Connétable Louis prior to his investiture as King of Holland in 1806.

Hortense, Louis and the Rue Cerutti hotel
Erected for the Receiver General of the Clergy around 1776, the Hôtel de Saint Julien experienced turbulent times during the Revolution. A victim of the fortunes of several merchants, it was eventually exchanged for the former residence of the Emperor's brother. An ideal setting for showcasing the Bonapartes' success, it was truly a winter residence, as summers were spent in Saint-Leu. A couple's home until 1806, Louis' departure for Holland precipitated a change of use. Certain rooms in his apartments, for example, were allocated to his offspring. Hortense even gave birth to the future Napoleon III in 1808.A favorite residence of the Queen of Holland, she retained its use until the end of the Empire, when the residence was sold to Jean Torlonia, Duke of Bracciano on September 4, 1815. According to an inventory dated July 15, 1809 [1], our chair would have been one of a series of fifty furnishing the impressive dining room on the ground floor, decorated with stuccowork from the time of Louis XVI. A first, this seat reinforces a limited corpus of seats delivered for Hortense and Louis in their private residences.

[1] A.N. AF IV 1878

Provenance:
- probably delivered for the rue Cerutti hotel when the princely couple moved in
- Banquier Torlonia in the same location
- French private collection

Works in comparison:
- pair of ceremonial armchairs from the grand salon de réception on the second floor, Christie's sale October 22, 2024, lot 40
- suite of twelve chairs from the same salon, Sotheby's sale April 14, 2010, lot 141

Bibliography: La Reine Hortense: une femme artiste, RMN exhibition catalog, pp 84-97

Condition report: Fully restored in our workshops, covered in luxurious waffle silk velvet. Old restorations.