Louis XVI Period Sofa And Ottoman.

This beautiful Louis XVI period gondola sofa is a beautifully crafted piece, made of walnut painted in shades of light gray, the seat has a beautiful balance and interesting work on the backrest, offering both a particularity and a most decorative effect. Large in size, it is a three-seater, this model of seat was very popular during the Louis XV and Louis XVI periods, it is a gondola sofa also called "ottomane" this term used by Roubo, Boucher, Delafosse, Ranson, Lalonde and Bimont designates a "Sofa with an oval or ellipsoidal plan, with a backrest in continuity with the cheeks, whose upper rail in a ramp lowers symmetrically on both sides towards the front and sometimes returns to the front" which corresponds perfectly to our model of sofa. Roubo indicates that "this daybed is also used for sitting as well as lying down, either on one end or the other". After analyzing the crosspieces and the various elements we did not find trace of stamp, we noted a quality manufacturing accompanied by an attention to detail and careful connections, all associated with beautiful proportions which indicates to us a work made by a talented carpenter, built entirely in walnut wood it could very well have been made in Paris, Lyon or Provence. We find a sofa of identical shape also from the Louis XVI period stamped by Dupain (Christie's sale of November 18, 1999, lot 659) but with a different ornamentation and sculpture work, Pierre Brizard (Christie's sale of July 4, 2017, lot 66) also produced ottomans in the same spirit but we did not find any with the same work on the back. If a sofa of this shape could have been produced in Paris, the carving work with these large flowers is reminiscent of the work of a Nîmes carpenter, Pierre Pillot, renowned for the quality of his work, mainly Louis XVI, he also initially produced some Louis XV pieces, trained in Paris in the workshop of Mathieu de Bauve, he could very well have made this splendid sofa. The entire structure of the seat is in very good condition, the paint is old, perhaps the original, with wear and tear, it offers a very beautiful patina which is perfectly matched with the woodwork, the whole is upholstered in a traditional manner, the upholstery is in good condition with a thick feather cushion, guaranteeing great comfort and reinforcing the idea of a daybed, the fabric which covers this sofa is old, of good quality it presents discoloration, wear and small holes, however it can still be used very well forming a very beautiful set. Dimensions: Width: Depth: Seat height: Backrest height: