Two Empire-period Chairs Attributed To Jacob Desmalter / Royal Provenance

Two Empire-period chairs, one of which bears the crowned “EU” brand mark (from the Château d’Eu).

Work attributed to Jacob-Desmalter (1803–1813).
Set of two chairs made of molded and painted wood.
The backrest is rectangular in shape.
The trapezoidal seat rests on hollow crossbars.
The front legs are double balusters, and the rear legs are saber-shaped.
Contemporary upholstery; the seats are covered with a geometric-patterned fabric in shades of gold and off-white.
The woodwork is generally in good condition despite routine restorations and a few notable missing pieces.
Reinforcements and doubled aprons are present.

It should be noted that several similar models are preserved in the collections of the Mobilier National.
An almost identical chair stamped “Jacob Desmalter,” likely delivered to the Élysée Palace for Prince Joachim Murat, is listed there under inventory number 24802.
During the renovation of his Château d’Eu, which began in 1827 and continued during his reign, it is quite possible that King Louis-Philippe drew from the Garde-Meuble’s reserves to reassign at least one of these chairs to the château.

The partnership between the father and his son François-Honoré was formed in 1803 following the death of the second brother.
The name “Desmalter” was chosen by François Honoré in memory of an ancestral estate in Cheny, Burgundy, called “Les Malterres.”
The products of this new company bore the stamp “Jacob D” (Desmalter), R. Meslée.
Their business was booming, orders were pouring in, and they employed nearly 300 workers.
For nearly a decade, they served as the preferred suppliers to the Imperial Furniture Repository and to a prestigious clientele in France and across Europe.