Jean Avisse, pair of Louis XVI period chairs.

An elegant pair of Louis XVI period chairs in molded, carved, and painted beechwood, each stamped IAVISSE for Jean Avisse, master chairmaker admitted to the Paris guild on November 10, 1745.

The openwork, lyre-shaped backs, known as "en guerbe" (sheaf) with exposed spindles, demonstrate a remarkable mastery of composition. The molded apron with rounded corners follows a horseshoe-shaped seat, resting on four tapered, fluted, and reeded legs with joints adorned with carved rosettes.

Made of painted beechwood, these chairs retain their original cream paint with a soft and even patina. They are in very good condition and have just been reupholstered in a fabric from the Lelièvre company (Quenin collection), featuring an Indian print pattern, based on 18th-century archival documents and finished with braid.

The "IAVISSE" stamp is located below the seat rail, along with a red wax seal, an old inventory mark for collections, attesting to this pair's inclusion in a catalogued set.

Jean Avisse (1723 – after 1796), documented by Pierre Kjellberg (Le Mobilier français du XVIIIe siècle, Éd. de l’Amateur, vol. I, pp. 31–33), was one of the most renowned chair makers in 18th-century Paris. His work, of impeccable quality, combines elegance and balance. The majority of his production is Louis XV style, with Louis XVI pieces being rarer, lending an air of rarity to our chair model, which is currently the only one known to exist in Jean Avisse's oeuvre.

Comparable models with a sheaf-shaped back are held in the collections of the Mobilier National (inv. MNT 2016/109, Louis XVI model), although the form of our pair is distinguished by a more architectural sheaf and a slightly lower back height.

Dimensions:
Back height: 84 cm
Seat height: 42 cm
Width: 44 cm
Depth: 51 cm

Bibliography:
Pierre Kjellberg, Le mobilier français du XVIIIe siècle. Dictionnaire des ébénistes et des menuisiers, Paris, Éd. de l’Amateur, 1989, vol. I, pp. 31–33.
Guillaume Janneau, Les Sièges, Éditions Jacques Fréal, Paris, ill. no. 306.
Mobilier National, inv. MNT 2016/109, comparable model with a sheaf-shaped back.

Ref: HPKA7TAKB4