Armchair with back and arms forming a single, continuous curved, veneered in maple and mahogany on a carcase of mahogany, with marquetry and carved decoration of neo-classical motifs.

Chair of burr maple inlaid with amaranthus, the seat recently covered with stamped velvet. The legs are turned and inlaid with formalised leaf motifs, diagonal trompe l'eoil fluting and anthemion ornament. The front legs are vertical, the back legs curve outwards. The seat rail, straight at the front, curving round the sides and back in a continuous deep, curved panel, is also inlaid with geometrical and anthemion motifs, Anthemia are carved on the front corners supporting columnar arm rests inlaid with diagonal trompe l'oeil fluting. The horseshoe-shaped back and arm rest is supported round the back by small splats of carved anthemion form. The rest itself is inlaid at back and front with formalised leaf motifs, foliate and anthemion ornament. It curves outward at the top, in section.
The seat is drop-in; the construction of the seat is of heavy and solid rails tenoned together, without corner blocks or struts.

An armchair similar to this one was shown by the manufacturer Jeanselme at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, where it was described as 'Etruscan style'. The design of the armchair is considerably earlier than 1851, however. It was orignally made by Filippo Palagi for the 'Camera di Toiletta' of Queen Maria Theresia, at Raconnigi, a palace south of Turin, in about 1834. The chairs for Racconnigi were probably made by the Parisian cabinet-maker Claude Chiavasse who made a similarly inlaid table. It is possible that Chiavasse was working with the Jeansealme firm in 1834 as well and Jeansealme may have been able to secure the design. This might explain why Jeanselme produced the series of armchairs of which this one forms part almost 20 years later.

W.28:1 to 2 -1969