PAIR OF LOUIS XV PERIOD QUEEN'S CHAIRS WITH FRAMES Stamped by Nicolas Heurtaut In carved and gilded wood, the back and waist decorated in the centre with a shell flanked by foliage, the shoulders with acanthus leaves, the curved legs ending in a scroll, upholstered in 18th century Beauvais tapestry decorated with birds and an architectural landscape surrounded by bouquets of flowers au naturel, stamped N. HEURTAUT on the back rail; minor accidents. H.98 cm (38 ½ in.) l.68 cm (26 ¾ in.) Nicolas Heurtaut, received master in 1753 Provenance : Former Karrick Van Zandt Riggs collection (1853-1935) ; His daughter, Pauline Riggs Noyes (1886-1942); His Sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 2 August 1947, lot 449; Galerie Didier Aaron, Paris ; Former Kathleen and Martin Field collection; Sotheby's New York sale, 20 October 2018, lot 1070 ($125,000); Acquired during the latter by the current owner. Comparative bibliography : B.G.B. Pallot, L'Art du Siege au XVIIIe siècle, A.C.L. Gismondi Editeurs, Paris, 1987, p. 202 (one of the two armchairs reproduced). A pair of Louis XV giltwood fauteuils a la reine a chassis, stamped by Nicolas Heurtaut Heurtaut began his career as a sculptor before being admitted to the Academy of Saint Luc in 1742 and obtaining his master's degree in 1753. This unusual training is reflected in his very distinctive style, characterised by a certain emphasis on symmetry, the use of very sinuous lines, carefully chosen mouldings and decorative elements carved in high relief. Heurtaut was a proponent of what came to be defined as classicising symmetrical rocaille, developed at the end of the Rococo period-beginning of the Transition period, a taste that was widely supported by Architect Pierre Contant d'Ivry. In this respect, our model is reminiscent of those in the double portrait (see Fig. 1) known as "Perronet" by Alexandre Roslin, or that of Nicolas Chalette (see Fig. 2) by Guillaume Voiriot. This extraordinary pair of armchairs, dating from the mid-1750s, when Heurtaut's creative genius was at its height, is comparable in size and richness of carved decoration to a very small group of pieces that have survived to the present day. These include : -An armchair made for the Count of Artois for his Parisian residence at the Palais du Temple (Sotheby's Paris sale, 16 December 2004, lot 146) -A suite of eight armchairs, three sofas and a ceremonial bed probably given by Louis XV to his mistress, Mme de Seran, at the Château de la Tour in Normandy. Six armchairs from this series are now in Versailles, while a pair sold at Christie's London on 10 July 2014 (lot 12). -A suite of four armchairs made for Monseigneur de Saint Aulaire, Bishop of Poitiers (cfr. B.G.B. Pallot, Le Mobilier du Musée du Louvre, Editions Faton, Vol. II, p. 80-83). As in our pair, all the examples mentioned above have very sinuous side rails with very pronounced borders running the length of the frame and extremely finely carved shells found in the centre of the belt and back. All the shells differ slightly from one another, demonstrating Heurtaut's talent for creating unique models that varied according to the requirements of each of his clients. Our pair benefits from a prestigious provenance; indeed, it was part of the collection of Karrick Riggs, nephew of the founder of Riggs Bank in Washington. Karrick was born in New York but spent most of his life in Paris, where he amassed an important collection of 18th-century French furniture and porcelain from Saint Cloud, Mennecy and Amiens. The collection was inherited by his daughter Pauline, who left Paris to settle in New York just before the Second World War. On her death, the collection was sold at an auction organised by Parke-Bernet in New York in 1947, marking the first time that such a large group of furniture and especially 18th-century French porcelain had appeared on the American market. Many of the pieces in the collection went on to become part of American museum collections such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts in Philadelphia.