Louis Delanois, maître in 1761.

With their balanced rococo decoration, these fauteuils were created by Delanois in the spirit of the rocaille symmetrisé, which became popular in France in the mid-eighteenth century. The broken curve of the backs' cresting foreshadows Delanois’ more mature goût grec style, a prime example of which is pair of fauteuils with similar back cresting sold recently from the collection of the French Rothschilds by Christie’s, New York, 11 October 2023, lot 48.

Louis Delanois was one of the most important menuisiers of the 1760s and 1770s. He supplied extensively to marchands-tapissiers, while also counting among his clients members of the aristocracy with progressive taste, such as the prince de Condé and Madame du Barry. One of his most important commissions was for King Stanislas II of Poland in 1768-70, when he supplied a significant amount of mobilier after striking neoclassical designs by Louis Prieur. Delanois produced a plethora of seats between 1761 and 1777, among which a great number were commissioned by marchands-merciers, for the Comte d'Artois (future Charles X, King of France between 1824-1830), and the prince de Condé. The majority of such commissions were recorded in his Livre des Ouvrages et Fournitures de Meubles faits à crédit (1761-1777), which is now preserved in the Archives de la Ville de Paris.