A Louis XVI Mahogany Canapé, attributed to Georges Jacob, Circa 1785

Sotheby's Paris, 16 April 2013, lot 249;

Where acquired by the present collector.

The final years of the reign of Louis XVI witnessed a significant increase in the use of mahogany, not only for case pieces but also for seat furniture, inspired by contemporary English chair designs. The motif of a pierced lyre splat accorded well with the neoclassical taste of the period and was particularly favoured by the royal menuisier Georges Jacob, incorporated for example in an important suite of chairs and armchairs supplied in 1785 for the principal dining room of the Pavillon de Monsieur, a neoclassical pavilion constructed by the architect Chalgrin behind the potager du roi in the park of Versailles as a private retreat for the King's brother the Comte de Provence (the future Louis XVIII). Four chairs and two armchairs from the set are now in the collection of the Mobilier National. A more intricate pierced lyre splat was also used by Jacob on a set of six mahogany fauteuils also in the Mobilier National collection, first recorded in the Grand Trianon during the reign of Louis-Philippe (one illustrated Madeleine Jarry, Le siège français, Fribourg 1973, pl.41 p.257).