Description
The rarity of 18th century Savonnerie carpets from the Royal manufactory, meant that following the turmoil of the French Revolution, and perhaps earlier, pieces of these very rare, royal carpets were snipped off and resold. Larger fragments, often following shape alteration and new placement of the carpets, were sold by members of the household. There are reports of soldiers being billeted in the royal palaces during periods of unrest in France, and cutting up these huge carpets into more usable sizes and selling into the market.
This pair of banquette stools have been entirely designed around four such pieces of circa 1740-1750, using corner scrolls and swags to create the pattern. Firstly, they were rewoven into the shape of rectangular seat covers and then the spectacular carved giltwood bases designed in Regence style, commisssioned either in London or Paris. It is difficult to be precise as there were several London businesses with strong links to Paris, who had the resources to commission these seats for discerning London clientele.
