Georges Jacob - Directoire period Etruscan chair in mahogany & horsehair - stamped

Beautiful Etruscan-style chair in molded and carved mahogany. Model with molded gadrooned front legs and Etruscan-style saber-shaped back legs. The inverted scrolled back is adorned with a carved grid and a tan leather panel. Late 18th-century Parisian work, Directoire period circa 1790-1800. Stamped by Georges Jacob below the belt.

Our chair is typical of the Etruscan style, very much in vogue at the end of the 18th century and directly inspired by the excavations of Greco-Roman antiquity, drawn by the painter David. Fashion-forward Georges Jacob was one of the pioneers of this new style, creating the first English-style mahogany chairs for the Comte de Provence at Versailles. He launched the Etruscan style by designing Etruscan-style furniture in carved mahogany, delivered in 1788 for the Château de Rambouillet dairy. His novelty-loving clientele included, in addition to the royal family, the Duc d'Orléans, the banker Laborde, the Marquise de Marbeuf, foreigners living in Paris such as Count Kerry and Princess Kinsky, and the King of Naples. Although he was denounced during the Terror, Georges Jacob remained untroubled thanks to David's protection. He even supplied furniture for the Convention and Committee offices. On this occasion, he received models from two architects recommended to him by David, Percier and Fontaine, the starting point of a fruitful collaboration.

We have given this fine specimen the level of restoration it deserves: stamped mahogany varnished to new, horsehair cover woven on hand looms, mounted on "knife blade" trim. Today, only one company in France and the rest of the world manufactures this luxury fabric.

This is a beautiful amateur's chair, not to be found everywhere. The model is extremely elegant, with quality finishes that are not ostentatious, but which Jacob's enthusiasts will appreciate.

Very good condition, with traces of previous restorations.

Width: 46cm
Height : 83cm
Seat height : 42cm

Ref: QQ2ZGCAWLF