Lot 67: A PAIR OF LOUIS XV GILTWOOD FAUTEUILS

A PAIR OF LOUIS XV GILTWOOD FAUTEUILS BY JEAN AVISSE, CIRCA 1750 Each with padded back, arms and seat covered in putti-pattern gold silk by Lelievre, the arched back carved with rocaille and centred by an acanthus clasp, the arms, seat and legs carved with hatched panels, centred by a flower, with rocaille and cabochon feet, each stamped 'I. AVISSE' and with two false Château de Chanteloup marks 40 ¼ in. (102 cm.) high; 29 ½ in. (75 cm.) wide

(102 cm.) high

CIRCA 1750

The Akram Ojjeh Collection; sold Christie's, Monaco, 11 December 1999, lot 37.

Jean Avisse, maître in 1745. This pair of fauteuils are part of a large suite of which a pair and a canapé are in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu (C. Hess & G. Wilson, Summary Catalogue of European Decorative Arts in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2001, p. 48, no. 91 and B. Pallot, The Art of the Chair, Paris, 1989, p. 278). They where purchased, respectively, from Matthew Schutz, Ltd. and the collection of Mrs. Rose Freda, sold Sotheby's, New York, 4 May, 1984, lot 41. The suite would have furnished a large salon and was likely composed of many pieces, as at least two further pairs of fauteuils, in addition to these, are known: one pair was offered at Sotheby's, New York, 17 November 1984, lot 290; the other sold at Sotheby's, New York, 31 October 1981, lot 314. A further pair of fauteuils by Avisse of extremely close design and rich carving was sold in 1954 at Galerie Charpentier, Paris (J. Nicolay, L'Art et la Manière des Maîtres Ebénistes Français au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1956, pp. 17 & 40, fig. G). Jean Avisse (1723-circa 1800) was elected maître in 1745 and worked from premises in the rue de Cléry. He was a leading menuisier during the mid-18th century, working for the French crown and aristocratic patrons, including the comtesse de Fontenay, the chevalier de Lamotte, the duchesse de La Tremoille and the marquise de Chabannes (The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, Vol. 12, Malibu, 1984, p. 199). He collaborated with the most important sculptors of his time, such as François Baillard and Pierre Rousseau. Avisse's Louis XV chairs are noteworthy for their relatively stiff and upright forms, detectable in the present pair and typical of his oeuvre. His more elaborately carved pieces, such as these, 'are always masterpieces of execution, featuring finely detailed carving and unusual motifs' (Pallot, op. cit., p. 299).