Pair Of Louis XIV Armchairs

Made of walnut, molded and carved, resting on a base with a high crossbar at the front and a turned H-shaped brace with opposing balusters. The fully upholstered backrest features undulating arms ending in crooks adorned with acanthus leaves, supported by balusters positioned directly above the front legs.
Contemporary upholstery decorated with fruit and citrus on an “ivory” background with studded edges.
An already antique piece in the Louis XIV style, based on models in vogue around 1670 and through the end of the 17th century.
Height: cm. / Width: cm. / Seat depth: cm.
In very good overall condition.

It appears that the term armchair first appeared in 1632* in the Inventory of Hilaire de la Chaussée: "Six chairs with vertugadin backs and two armchairs, upholstered in Hungarian-style tapestry" (sic).
In terms of woodworking, this piece is reminiscent of the set from the Château d’Effiat (seats preserved at the Louvre and Cluny museums), which at the time represented a new style in which the Dutch influence on armchairs had faded; the model we are offering does not have square rear legs but turned ones, creating a beautiful sense of unity. 
The slightly sloped backrest offers the seated person a degree of comfort lacking in the earliest chairs, which at the time imposed a certain solemnity—a stately form constrained by a vertical back position.
Now that they had become comfortable, these designs proliferated, featuring various turned bases and arms that were simply crafted and/or ornamented.
They could now be found in the homes of aristocrats, lords, and the finest bourgeois households, adorned with all manner of embroidery and/or fabrics… even in the theater, where, in “Les précieuses ridicules,” they are described as “conveniences for conversation” (Scene XII).
The armchair was then upholstered “with petit point tapestry, embellished with thick silk in plumes of various colors,” or upholstered with “plain embroidery,” trimmed with “Chinese plush” or “crimson red velvet with gold and silver crepe” (sic), and adorned with silks **...
The Inventory of the Crown’s Furniture from 1673 describes them as covered in “blue velvet” with “rich gold and silver embroidery”…

There is so much to say and describe about the chairs of this period… so I would like to refer you to authors who have written books dedicated to furniture and this fascinating subject (G. Jeanneau, Fr. de Salverte, P. Verlet, etc.).

* Havard, vol. 2, column 725.
** Ibid. and the following column.