Pierre Benoit Marcion - chaise impériale livrée pour Compiègne en 1808

This chair is available in Paris, free delivery for the capital and its suburbs; 60 euros for the rest of France.

Pierre Benoît Marcion
imperial chair
relacquered wood, pegged joints
dimensions : 
Paris, circa 1808

Queen's chair, resting on tapered ringed front legs ending in balls, with sabre-shaped back legs. The belt is moulded, as is the back. The connecting thimbles have a rosette in a thimble.
This chair bears the hot iron mark of the Garde-Meuble Royal during the Restoration, as well as its original delivery label and various inventory numbers from Compiègne in the 19th century.

Imperial production and traceability
This chair was part of a large delivery by Pierre-Benoît Marcion in around 1808. This atypical model does not have the double baluster feet of the previous model. Marcion's authorship of this model is obvious, as he delivered six almost identical chairs for the salon of the Prince's double flat, which was occupied successively by the Queen of Spain, Marie-Louise in 1808, Jérôme in 1810 and finally Prince Murat. Under the Restoration, this flat was given to the Duchess of Angoulême...
This chair takes on the characteristics of a noble delivery, while being delivered for a master flat in the Grandes Ecuries.
It is described as follows: 
1812, n°4 appartement de maître aux grandes écuries 
1817, under number 13132: 1 bergère, 2 armchairs and 4 chairs upholstered in Utrecht velvet for the study in the Small Stables
1833, under number 6921: striped yellow velvet salon on the mezzanine above the porcelain, flat number 110.
The other inventories are unfortunately illegible. This chair was part of the Domaines sales during the Third Republic, when the château was administered by the Mobilier National.

The Palace of Compiègne
A royal and then imperial residence, the fittings designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel under Louis XV are clearly visible. After falling into disuse under Louis XVI and the Revolution, Napoleon I ordered an ambitious restoration campaign from 1807 under the direction of architect Louis-Martin Berthault. 
It should be noted that the estate came under the administration of the Mobilier National between 1870 and 1927.

Condition report : 
Fully restored chair. Reupholstered, seat in animal and plant hair, blue stamped velvet from Casal and alternating nail finish on gold-faux braid, to recall the atmosphere of the time.

Work in comparison : 
in. Marcion ébéniste de Napoléon by Jean-Pierre Planchon, Monelle Hayot edition, p. 163 under number 111.