PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE HONORABLE HORST DENK AND THE HONORABLE RUTH E. DENK
A SET OF EIGHT LOUIS XVI MAHOGANY DINING CHAIRS
BY HENRI JACOB, CIRCA 1785, SOME MINOR DIFFERENCES TO CARVING
Important information about this lot
Price Realised USD 3,780
Estimate
USD 6,000 - USD 8,000
Estimates do not reflect the final hammer price and do not include buyer's premium, any applicable taxes or artist's resale right. Please see the Conditions of Sale for full details.
Closed: 8 Apr 2025
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A SET OF EIGHT LOUIS XVI MAHOGANY DINING CHAIRS
BY HENRI JACOB, CIRCA 1785, SOME MINOR DIFFERENCES TO CARVING
Henri Jacob was born in 1753 and trained with his cousin, the celebrated menuisier Georges Jacob, for six years before receiving his maîtrise in 1779. He became an accomplished and prolific menuisier-ébéniste, soon counting among his most illustrious clients the future Paul I of Russia and his wife, Maria Feodorovna. As early as 1782, when the future tsar and his spouse traveled to France incognito as the 'comte and comtesse du Nord', they selected Jacob to produce an order of over two hundred chairs and other pieces of furniture for Pavlovsk, their new palace near St. Petersburg (D. Ledoux-Lebard, ‘Henri Jacob, un menuisier-ébéniste original’, L’Estampille-Objet d’Art, March 1995, pp. 46-57).
Henri's oeuvre is often compared with that of his celebrated cousin, given the undeniable similarities and rapprochements, the impeccable quality of his work and the Royal patronage that both enjoyed. Like Georges, Henri also produced both seats and case furniture towards the end of his career, after the abolition of the guilds freed him from their restrictions on furniture production. As witnessed by this lot, a great amount of Henri's production consisted of mahogany seat furniture from the Louis XVI, Directoire and Consulat periods, executed to rigorous and exacting standards. Reflecting Georges' influence on his work, Henri employed several elements characteristic of Georges' oeuvre in his own production, including the slender and elegant baluster arm supports seen on the present fauteuils. A matched pair of white-painted voyeuses with similar lyre backs and rounded seats by Henri Jacob was sold from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Gutfreund, Christie's, New York, 27 January 2021, lot 265 ($17,500).
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Condition report
A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.
The condition of lots can vary widely and the nature of the lots sold means that they are unlikely to be in a perfect condition. Lots are sold in the condition they are in at the time of sale.
The fauteuils: 371⁄2 in. (95.5 cm.) high; 22 in. (56 cm.) wide; 231⁄4 in. (59.5 cm.) deep; 183⁄4 in. (48 cm.) high, the seat (over cushion); 181⁄4 in. (46.5 cm.) deep, the seat
The chaises: 37 in. (94 cm.) high; 181⁄2 in. (47 cm.) wide; 291⁄4 in. (74.5 cm.) deep; 183⁄4 in. (48 cm.) high, the seat (over cushion); 16 in. (41 cm.) deep, the seat
With a clean, complete well-maintained appearance, structurally sound and ready to use. With scattered age and construction cracks, most with later corner blocks, a few with repairs to the tops of their legs, and scattered repairs and reinforcements to rails, not visible from the exteriors. The backs also generally with some repairs, mainly to the lyres. Overall with general marks, nicks, surface scratches, tiny losses and repairs consistent with age and use. Overall with evidence of minor woodworm, now inactive. The later upholstery with marks, faint discoloration and overall signs of wear, as to be expected from use.
Cost calculator
Lot 12Sale 23577
BY HENRI JACOB, CIRCA 1785, SOME MINOR DIFFERENCES TO CARVINGA SET OF EIGHT LOUIS XVI MAHOGANY DINING CHAIRSEstimate: USD 6,000 - 8,000
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