Shepherdess to Elisa Bonaparte Princess of Piombino and Lucca Mahogany and mahogany veneer moulded and carved with palmettes and pastilles, the slightly arched waistband, straight armrests supported by sheathed front uprights ending in claws and arched back legs. Delivered by Jacob-Desmalter on 31 October 1806 in Fontainebleau for the bedroom or salon of the Emperor's sister, Elisa Bonaparte (1777-1820), Princess of Piombino and Lucca. First Empire period In his 'mémoire' (invoice), Jacob-Desmalter describes our bergère as follows: "Two mahogany shepherds' chairs, S-shaped crook backs; uprights of the back decorated with flat bottoms; straight armrests, the bottom connecting with the front legs, and surmounted by a moving water-leaf at the side; sheathed legs, finished with a carved lion's claw." (cf Hector Lefuel, JACOB-DESMALTER, 1925, ed. A.Morancé, page 254 (Arch. Nat. O2 500)).1 Note that there were two bergères of this model for the bedroom, and two identical ones for the living room. Finally, we should point out that armchairs and chairs also from Princess Elisa's flat, described in Jacob's "mémoire", and therefore "en suite" with our bergère, are currently in the Palais de Fontainebleau (armchair, inventory no. 2654L)2 (chair, inventory no. F-1991.5.4)3 (illustrations below, last). Our shepherdess has lost most of her inventory markings (fire mark + stencil numbers), which were deliberately "erased" with a rasp or file (photo on request). Only a red stenciled "7" clearly remains4. We know of a second shepherdess identical to ours, also sold at Osenat in Fontainebleau on 12 March 2022, lot 328, which fetched €5,250 (see below). This one had the stencilled mark in red: 228 F 7837 (ending with a red 7 as here), as well as the iron mark of the Palais de Fontainebleau under the Restoration and the black stencilled marks F 3623/2 and 3037, and also an old label with the number 3623.