PAIR OF LOUIS XV PERIOD "À LA REINE" ARMCHAIRS In carved and gilded wood, the back and waist decorated in the centre with asymmetrical rocaille cartouches among foliate scrolls, the shoulders with foliate motifs, the legs in inverted console surmounted by a foliate cabochon, upholstered in 18th century Aubusson tapestry with polychrome decoration of poppies on a blue background, label numbered "357/46". under the belt of one of the two, "357" for the other H. 94.5 cm (37 ¼ in.) l. 71 cm (28 in.) A pair of Louis XV giltwood fauteuils a la reine Although unstamped, this pair of armchairs, with their overall proportions and richly ornamented carvings, is a fine example of 18th-century Parisian joinery. The asymmetrical ornamentation on the waist and back in the purest Rococo style is combined with classically inspired "scrolled" legs, allowing us to date these chairs to the 1730-1740 period. In particular, their profile refers us to the repertoire of the famous Parisian ornamentalist Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754), a celebrated architect and sculptor who, in the first half of the 18th century, displayed remarkable skill in the art of ornament, making a major contribution to defining the lines of the Rococo style. Our chairs can be traced back to a drawing (cf. fig. 1) by Nicolas Pineau now in the Musée des Arts décoratifs (Inv. A 4501) and illustrated in B.G.B. Pallot "L'Art du Siège au XVIIIe siècle en France", A.C.R. Gismondi Éditeurs, 1987, p. 121. Lastly, these armchairs are embellished with a precious 18th century tapestry with a poppy design characterised by a rare vivacity and freshness of colour; a similar tapestry can be found on a sofa attributed to Foliot in the Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome, illustrated in B.G.B. Pallot, "L'Art du Siège au XVIIIe siècle en France", A.C.R. Gismondi Éditeurs, 1987, p. 147, or on a pair of frame armchairs from the former Dassault collection, sold at Artcurial Paris on 16 June 2022, lot 4.