A Parisian “bergère en cabriolet” armchair
Carved beechwood with gilding over red bole and chalk ground, replaced raspberry coloured velvet covers, upholstery. Resting on four tapering fluted supports. The apron rounded on the back and slightly protruding towards the front. The armrests and rounded back upholstered. The upper part of the backrest and four faces of the apron decorated with finely carved acanthus, the armrests with fluted mouldings terminating in smooth scrolls. H 93.5, W 68, seat depth 55 cm.
Attributed to Claude II Sené, circa 1775.
Claude II Sené was active as a master craftsman in Paris as of 1769 and initially had a workshop in the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, which he moved to Rue de Cléry, not far from the studio of his more famous brother Jean-Baptiste-Claude, in 1783. Unlike his brother, Claude II Sené produced mainly for private clients and left behind some elegant, finely crafted seating furniture.
Literature
For more on Claude II Sené d. de Salverte, Les Ébénistes du XVIIIe siècle. Leurs œuvres et leurs marques, Paris 1953, p. 296. Cf. also Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIe siècle. Dictionnaire des ébénistes et de menuisiers, Paris 2008, p. 847, illus. c. Cf. also Pallot, Le mobilier français du musée Jacquemart-André, Dijon 2006, p. 251, no. 46.