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Folding stool (pliant) (one of a pair)

1786
Not on view
On May 1, 1786, Jean Hauré (active 1771–after 1796) received a commission for a set of furniture comprising forty pliants or folding stools, twelve regular stools, or tabourets, a folding screen, and a fire screen for Marie Antoinette's Salon des Jeux at Compiégne. Twenty-four of the X-shaped folding stools, all the tabourets, and both screens were then sent instead to the queen's gaming room at Fontainebleau. On September 3 of the same year Hauré was asked to supply an additional twenty-four pliants, twelve tabourets, a chamber screen, and a fire screen for Compiegne. Two of the pliants are now in the Museum's collection, a gift of the Wrightsmans, but whether they were part of the first or the second order and whether they remained at Compiegne or were sent to Fontainebleau is not known.

As was the case with the secretary, this large set of furniture was the fruit of a collaborative effort, and the record of the commission provides a roll call of the artists: The beechwood frames were provided by Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené, who was also paid form aking a preliminary model. The sprigs and wreaths of ivy, beading, twisted-cord ornament, and lion's-paw feet were carved by the sculptor Nicolas Vallois (1738–1790) under Hauré's direction. Louis-François Chatard painted the furniture an off-white color, highlighting the decoration in gold. A metalworker named Courbin supplied the iron bolts placed at the crossing of the legs so that the stools could be folded, and one Chaudron gilded the rosette-shaped bosses on the ends of the bolts. Claude François Capin upholstered the stools and applied fringed borders. The firm of Pernon in Lyon wove the fabric for the original upholstery and the matching wall hangings, a ribbed silk chiné embellished with a bower of trees, floral garlands, and hollyhocks on a white ground.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Folding stool (pliant) (one of a pair)
  • Maker: Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené (1748–1803)
  • Decorator: Carved by Nicolas François Vallois (1738–1788)
  • Maker: Gilded by Louis-François Chatard (ca. 1749–1819)
  • Maker: Rosette-shaped bosses on bolt ends gilded by Chaudron
  • Date: 1786
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Carved and painted beechwood, covered in pink silk
  • Dimensions: 18 1/4 in. × 27 in. × 20 1/4 in. (46.4 × 68.6 × 51.4 cm)
  • Classification: Woodwork-Furniture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 1977
  • Object Number: 1977.102.9
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Folding stool (pliant) (one of a pair), Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené, Carved and painted beechwood, covered in pink silk, French
Folding stool (pliant) (one of a pair)
Multiple artists/makers
1786
Armchair (bergère) (part of a set), Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené, Carved, painted and gilded walnut; modern cotton twill embroidered in silk, French, Paris
Armchair (bergère) (part of a set)
Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené
Louis-François Chatard
ca. 1788
Daybed (Lit de repos or sultane) (part of a set), Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené, Carved, painted and gilded walnut; modern cotton twill embroidered in silk, French, Paris
Daybed (Lit de repos or sultane) (part of a set)
Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené
Louis-François Chatard
1788
Fire screen (Écran) (part of a set), Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené, Carved, painted and gilded walnut; modern cotton twill with silk embroidery, French, Paris
Fire screen (Écran) (part of a set)
Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené
Louis-François Chatard
1788
Mechanical table, Jean-François Oeben French, born Germany, Oak veneered with mahogany, kingwood, and tulipwood, with marquetry of mahogany, rosewood, holly, and various other woods; gilt-bronze mounts; imitation Japanese lacquer; replaced silk, French
Mechanical table
Jean-François Oeben
Roger Vandercruse, called Lacroix
ca. 1761–63

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