As with some of the artifacts at Myers & Monroe, anecdotal documentation pertaining to the previous owners of this set of chairs will be provided. This pair of uniquely designed and well executed armchairs and pair of side chairs is what remains from a much larger set. Although this is not a unique and unheard of model of chair, it is certainly one that stands out in design and quality from the majority of models of the period. Through markings on the chairs, and the family genealogy of the previous owners (Réné & Aude d’Aboville) many possibilities arise as to the likely original owners.

One of the Aboville’s direct anscestors was a Napoleonic General whose name is etched into the Arc de Triomphe, and Réné’s cousin was the first man to row across the Atlantic Ocean in 1980. They thus were amused that the last of their family chairs would cross the same body of water. Inventory markings on the chairs trace them to their ancestor by marriage Octave Tournouer whose chateau “Saint-Hilaire des Noyers” has since left the family. Tournouer purchased the chateau 50 years after the chairs were made, which could suggest the chairs were inherited by his wife whose grandfather was the official doctor of King Charles X. With an abundance of plausible original owners throughout all sides of the Aboville family history, however, narrowing the provenance down to a specific person is probably impossible. Although these details do not effect the price of the chairs, it is entertaining to pass them along with an unbroken story.

The attractive pediment atop the straight backs is one of the more exceptional design elements of these chairs. One close up image shows this motif of two opposing consoles with finely carved lotus flowers that issue from a carved rosace. The feet are in the form of a cuisse de grenouille or a “frogs thigh.” This plusher form eclipses the simpler and sharper “saber” legs seen on chairs from the Empire period. The needlepoint was allegedly knitted by Aude’s great-great-grandmother during the 1860s when Napoleon’s grandson was in power. This makes sense, as Napoleonic bees would have been a bad idea when these chairs were made (circa 1825) not long after Waterloo.

Armchair: H: 38 in. L: 23 in. D: 20 in.

Sidechair: H: 35.5 in. L: 18 in. D: 17 in.

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