Louis XVI gilt walnut chair, stamped by Georges Jacob, c.1784-85, for the boudoir of Queen Marie-Antoinette at Versailles. It sold for €2.1m (£1.81m) at Sotheby’s Paris.
Stamped for the leading French maker Georges Jacob and dating from c.1784-85, it was thought to have been part of a set of furniture created for Queen Marie-Antoinette’s personal rooms at Versailles.
The epitome of French fashion prior to the Revolution, it was sold in one of the auctions organised by the National Convention between 1793-4 when the queen’s boudoir furniture was dispersed – much of which ended up in Prussia.
Having since entered the collection of the comtesse Greffuhle at the end of the 19th century, the chair was sold at a Binoche auction in 2000.
At this latest sale the estimate was listed as ‘on request’ and it was knocked down at €2.1m (£1.81m), a sum that represented an auction record for a single 18th-century chair. Sotheby’s said no information about the buyer was available. With fees the price was €2.59m (£2.23m).
Hubert Guerrand-Hermès was a member of the famous luxury goods family and, over his life, amassed an extensive collection of art and furniture for his Hôtel de Lannion residence in Paris which he acquired both at auction and from dealers.
The evening sale was a ‘white-glove’ event, raising a €23m (£19.8m) total including fees.
