Offered by Franck Baptiste Paris
Pair of large fireside bergères, JB Lelarge in Paris circa 1780
Rare pair of armchairs in Trianon gray lacquered beech wood.
Model with a medallion back finely carved with a foliage of flowers.
The front crossbar, slightly curved, has a Greek cutout embellished with sculpted flowers.
It rests on four spiraled feet with rudentures.
Very good state of preservation.
IB LELARGE stamp on one of the two armchairs.
Parisian work from the Louis XVI period around 1780.
Dimensions :
Height : 90cm ; Width : 65cm ; Depth : 65 cm`
Our opinion :
The particularly low seat of our bergères made them suitable for "fireside" use.
Indeed the presence of small feet allowed the user to receive frontally the heat emanating from the hearth of the fireplace.
The latter enveloped the entire body of its host, thanks to the integral upholstery of the seat.
The presence of a thick cushion added to the comfort of this type of seat, which was to replace the ceremonial armchairs of large living rooms at the end of the 18th century, for a more intimate life, in small apartments.
The rarity of the model, the perfect manufacture, the traditional upholstery and the presence of a prestigious stamp make our pair of bergères particularly rare on the market.
*Jean-Baptiste III Lelarge (1743-1802) is a carpenter received master on February 1, 1775.
Son and grandson of carpenters in seats bearing the same first name and also established rue de Cléry, Jean Baptiste III Lelarge produced seats in the Transition and Louis XVI style of an undeniable mastery.
If the archives of the Garde-Meuble do not mention his name, he works extensively for a wealthy French and foreign clientele, among whom we find the King of Portugal. It is possible that he made - during the first years of his career - Louis XV chairs, but the use of the same stamp as that of his father does not confirm this statement. This is why only Louis XVI models are commonly attributed to him. Most of Jean-Baptiste Lelarge's seats bear witness to a very beautiful appearance : robust, not heavy, rigorously constructed, impeccably assembled, they are adorned with simple moldings or fine and incisive sculptures, well distributed, without overloading.
He is unquestionably one of the best seat carpenters of the reign of Louis XVI.
