Caned "Fauteuil de bureau" by Etienne Meunier

Caned Office Chair by Etienne Meunier
From the Louis XV period (around 1740)
Height : 95 cm Height of the seat with the cane : 48 cm Width : 68 m Depth : 51 cm

This elegant armchair with a flat back, mounted in cane, is made of molded and finely carved walnut. Although it does not have a central foot unlike traditional office chairs, its proportions make it well suited to this use: The height of the seat is raised, the back is lower and straighter, and the shallow depth of the seat positions the user perfectly for work in front of a desk.

Etienne Meunier, received Master around 1732, was one of the best chair carpenters of the 18th century. He worked in relation with Pierre Migeon who supplied chests of drawers and desks. Etienne Meunier is undoubtedly the reference for office chairs of the Louis XV period.

This beautiful chair is characteristic of the work of Etienne Meunier. The lines and curves are very studied, the molding deep, and the sculpture pure but very careful. On the backrest, Meunier replaces the eternal flowers and acanthus leaves by superb cartouches with leaves in the center and on the shoulders. On the back legs, at the embossing of the "petit dos", there is a rare carved "motif". The center of the "petit dos" is also carved in its center. Finally, the armrest console shows the beginning of a "coup de fouet" while this figure of style really appears only at the end of the Louis XV. Designed around 1740, this seat is of a rare elegance: it shows how Etienne Meunier boldly showed the way in the evolution of the characteristics of the Louis XV style.