A set of three Empire carved giltwood 'Palais des Tuileries' fauteuils by Francois-Honore-Georges Jacob-Desmalter (1770-1841)

With Tuileries inventory stamps from the Restauration period

Footnotes

The 'Iacob' stamp on the present lot is documented as being used by Jacob-Desmalter during the period 1813-25, D. Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier Francais du XIX Siecle, pp.'s 268 & 330. However a comparable fauteuil, dated 1809, which appears in S. Grandjean, Empire Furniture, 1800 to 1825, fig. 49a & p. 100, formed part of a giltwood suite that Jacob-Desmalter supplied for the primary drawing room at Compiegne on behalf of Empress Josephine.

Another armchair attributed to the Jacob brothers, which is also of similar design to the offered models, was supplied to Madam Bonaparte for the Chateau de Saint Cloud. With comparable arm terminals and front legs, this is illustrated in J-P. Samoyault, Le Mobilier du General Moreau, fig. 30a, p. 38. Of various related armchairs, the one with perhaps the closest type of raised toprail ornament features in Le Siege Francais, fig. 69, pl.'s 25 & 27.

A pair of Empire fauteuils with similar arm terminals and virtually identical front legs sold Christie's, Paris, 16 December 2008, Important Mobilier et Objets d'Art, lot 293. The latter pair, bearing the stamp for Jacob Desmalter, have scrolled backs with practically non-existent toprails, while the tablets surmounting the present armchairs are more decorative. However, significantly, the raised ornament on the seat frame of this Paris model closely relates in design to the offered toprails.

An example with conforming characteristics to the Christie's pair, and thus by extension to the above fauteuils, sold Sotheby's, Paris, 18 March 2010, Collection Violette de Talleyrand, Duchesse de Sagan, lot 106. This is stamped: 'Jacob D/R Meslee' which is recorded as one widely used by the Jacob brothers in the period 1803-13. This Sotheby's chair was originally provided for the Chateau d'Eu in Normandy, which was Louis Philippe's summer residence during his reign, and itself closely follows a set of seat furniture supplied for the Emperor Napoleon's bedroom at Compiegne.

Jacob-Desmalter
Georges Jacob (1739-1814), renowned cabinet maker active during the late 18th century, sold his business in 1796 to his two sons, who then renamed the firm Jacob Freres. The Jacob brothers, Georges II (1768-1803) and Francois-Honore-George, produced furniture directly inspired by Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquity following the fashionable Neoclassical taste of the period established by Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine in their 1801 publication, Recueil des Decorations Interieures.

Francois-Honore-Georges, who added Desmalter to his family surname in 1803, provided over 330 pieces for Napoleon including most importantly the imperial throne in advance of Napoleon's coronation, which took place the following year. Throughout the reign of Napoleon (1804-15), Jacob-Desmalter was the predominant and favoured cabinet maker to the Imperial Garde-Meuble, responsible for supplying furnishings at Fontainebleau, Grand Trianon, Saint Cloud, Rambouillet and of course the Tuileries. In fact, it is noted in Le Mobilier Francais du XIX Siecle that between 1803 and 1813, the cost of works produced by Jacob-Desmalter for the Palais des Tuileries alone amounted to 541,765 Francs.

Literature
D. Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier Francais du XIX Siecle,Paris, 1989.
S. Grandjean, Empire Furniture, 1800 to 1825, London, 1966.
J-P. Samoyault, Le Mobilier du General Moreau, Un Ameublement a la mode en 1802, Paris, 1992.
M. Jarry, Le Siege Francais de Louis XIII a Napoleon III, Paris.