Empire Period Sofa, Attributed To Demay.

An elegant, finely carved mahogany sofa from the Empire-Consulate period, attributed to Jean-Baptiste-Bernard Demay (1759-1848).
This exquisite piece of cabinetmaking rests on four tapered front legs, carved with dentils and terminating in lion's paw feet in the round. The four rear legs are saber-shaped. Each block connecting to the seat rail is adorned with a radiating rosette.
Each armrest features a magnificently carved lion's head, executed with great attention to detail: mane, prominent muzzles, and expressive gaze.
These headrests extend into a strongly curved console with gadroons and long lotus leaves.
These armrest consoles are attached to a small sleeve extending from the legs.
These decorative elements are directly borrowed from the classical repertoire, which was highly prized during the Empire period.

For similar works, all stamped or attributed to Jean-Baptiste-Bernard Demay:
- Salon furniture illustrated in L'Estampille/L'objet d'art, no. 136, August 1981
- Drouot, Me de Ricqlès, March 23, 1994, lot 129.
- Léon de Groër's "Les Arts Décoratifs de 1790-1850" illustrates an identical armchair.

In very good condition with a lovely French polish.
Upholstered in a silk and cotton fabric by the Lelièvre company, whose lozenges, composed of an arrow and a palm frond, are each adorned with a motif representing lyres, cherubs, swans, or peacocks.

Empire-Consulate period, 1800-1810.

Dimensions:
Height 92 cm
Width 155 cm
Depth 71 cm

DEMAY Jean-Baptiste-Bernard:
Jean-Baptiste-Bernard Demay (1759 - March 14, 1848) - Cabinetmaker. Paris. Master craftsman on February 4, 1784. He worked for about thirty years on the rue de Cléry.
His mark appears on the charming flying chairs, adorned with Marie Antoinette's monogram, located at the Petit Trianon. From the beginning of his career, he received commissions for the Queen's furniture.
Many pieces bearing the same mark are known, including a graceful armchair in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and two Montgolfier chairs exhibited at the Musée Carnavalet.
Contrary to what one might think, Jean-Baptiste-Bernard Demay was the precursor of these lion-headed chairs, not Jacob.
He will be the stepson of Jean-Baptiste Claude SÉNÉ.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
- French Furniture of the 18th Century - Pierre Kjellberg - Les Editions de l'Amateur - 2002
- Cabinetmakers of the 18th Century - Count François de Salverte - Les éditions d'Art et d'Histoire - 1934.
- Salon Furniture illustrated in L'Estampille/L'objet d'art, no. 136, August 1981.
- Francis JB Watson, Louis XVI Furniture, Les Beaux Arts, Paris, 1963

MUSEUMS:
- Museum of Decorative Arts - Paris - Carnavalet Museum - Paris
- Palace of Versailles
- Metropolitan Museum


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