PAIR OF LOUIS XV PERIOD QUEEN-SIZE ARMCHAIRS Stamped by Michel Gourdin In carved and gilded beech, the back and waist decorated in the centre with a cartouche, the shoulders embellished with flowers, the armrests in coup de fouet, the cambered legs surmounted by a cabochon and ending in a scroll, the seat and armrests upholstered in white, the backs bald, stamped M.GOURDIN on the rear crosspiece and on the frames. H. 97 cm (38 ¼ in.) l. 72 cm (28 ¼ in.) Michel Gourdin, master in 1752 A pair of Louis XV giltwood fauteuils a chassis a la reine, stamped by Michel Gourdin This elegant pair of frame armchairs, combining sober lines and extraordinarily fine carving, is stamped by Michel Gourdin, a leading representative of the famous family of Parisian joiners active in Paris during the third quarter of the 18th century. Michel Gourdin's designs are rarer than those created by his father Jean, from whom he inherited his skill and taste for delicate form. He became a master at the end of the Louis XV style, and his models quickly evolved into a neoclassical repertoire, leaving few examples, such as this one, from his early period. The motif of the carved heart inscribed in a cartouche, which adorns the central part of the backrest and the waistband of our chairs and is frequently found in Jean-Baptiste Tilliard's corpus, is also typical of the Gourdins' production. It can be found, with slight differences, in a suite of four armchairs with a queen frame stamped by Michel Gourdin and sold at Christie's Paris on 19 November 2007, lot 343, a suite of four armchairs stamped by Jean Gourdin sold at Sotheby's London on 13 November 2020, lot 104, or on the pair stamped by Jean-Baptiste Gourdin and sold at Sotheby's Paris on 24 March 2005, lot 33. This pair of armchairs has frame upholstery, reserved in the 18th century for the finest chairs: the straps are not nailed directly to the crosspieces, but are attached to removable frames, which are sometimes themselves stamped, as is the case with our examples. This practice preserved the structure of the furniture and made it easy to change fabrics with the seasons, switching from tapestries and velvets in winter to silks and cottons in summer. *Information for buyers: The auction is exclusive of VAT. VAT at the reduced rate of 5.5% applies to the auction. This VAT is recoverable for French professionals. It is refundable for a buyer from outside the EU on presentation of proof of export from the EU or for a professional buyer with an intra-Community VAT number and a document proving delivery in the Member State. *Information to the buyers : The hammer price and premium will be VAT excluded. 5.5% VAT will be added to the hammer price and premium. Upon request, this VAT can be refunded to the purchaser on presentation of written proof of exportation outside EU, or to the EU purchaser who will submit his intracommunity VAT number and a proof of shipment to an EU country.