Jean Baptiste Lelarge III - Rare Low Half-cabriolet Armchair - Lacquered Beech

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Jean-Baptiste Lelarge III, master in 1775
Low armchair in half-cabriolet
Pegged joints
Dimensions : H. 95 ; W. 62 ; D. 57 ; Seat height 37 (cm.)
Paris, circa 1780

This armchair rests on fluted and filleted legs, ringed at the top. The waistband and armrests are finely moulded and carved. The back is wide and slightly concave. 
This chair is representative of the art of Parisian joiners at the end of the Ancien Régime. It is a rare example of a piece of furniture that is not completely "à la reine", i.e. with a straight back, perhaps to match the shape of a circular piece?

Jean-Baptiste Lelarge III (1743-1802)
Received master carpenter's diploma on 1 February 1775. The son and grandson of carpenters with the same first name who were also established on rue de Cléry, Jean Baptiste III Lelarge produced Transitional and Louis XVI style chairs of undeniable class. The majority of Jean-Baptiste Lelarge's chairs are very good-looking: robust without heaviness, rigorously constructed and impeccably assembled, they are adorned with simple mouldings or fine, incisive carvings that are well distributed and not overloaded.

Condition report: restorations to the feet, and small accidents. Beautiful patina of lacquer. Completely restored by our craftsman in the traditional way: joinery without play, seat and back with horsehair on webbing. Superb Colony-style fabric.