M. Markley Antiques
281.748.2266
Antique Chairs - Item 3314
2
Renaissance Armchairs or Caquetoires
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| Item 3314 | 2 Renaissance Armchairs or Caquetoires |
| Dimensions | Width 23, Height 45, Depth 16 (in inches) |
| Wood | Beech |
| Country | France |
| Date | Circa 1890 |
| Price | $1995 |
| Description |
These two matching Renaissance chairs are fine examples of the 19th century revival in France of interest in designs of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The armchairs are classic caquetoires - trapezoidal-shaped seat echoed below in the stretcher. This shape, also referred to 'as in the manner of Tallemouze,' is another charming example of design evoking food: the 'talmouse' was a triangular puff pastry dating from medieval times but now recognized as the ancestor of the cheesecake. The origin of the term caquetoire, however, is a bit sexist to the modern observer. According to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the caquetoire was developed as a conversation chair for women (the French verb "caqueter" means "to chat"). The broad, trapezoidal seat accommodated wide dresses worn by ladies of the 16th century who otherwise had been relegated to stools or window seats (except in the case of aristocracy and royalty) while their male counterparts sat on chairs. Other features of the armchairs harking back to the haute époque caquetoire include the narrow back out of which curving arms attach to posts in the shape of columns extending vertically from the seat. Characteristic Renaissance flavor is found in the hand-carved ornament on the backrest and bordering the lower front part of the seat. In that respect and several others (the curved arms, the verticals in columnar style and the tiny bun feet supporting the front of the stretcher), they bear a striking resemblance to a chair in the collection of the Musée Jacquemart-André in our old neighborhood in Paris. Although the chairs look like walnut, they are made of beech in accordance with the custom in the late 19th Century neo-Renaissance style and are quite sturdy. |
| Reference |
Boccador,
Jacqueline, Le Mobilier Français du Moyen Age à la Renaissance, Editions d'Art
Monelle Hayot (Saint-Just-en-Chaussée, 1988); Boussel, Patrice, Les Styles du
Moyen Age à Louis XIV (Baschet et Cie,
Paris, 1979);Rousseau,
Francis, Le Grand Livre des Meubles (Copyright Studio, Paris, 1999); Rijksmuseum
Masterpieces |
| Uses |
These chairs are ideal for a dining area around a small table or as occasional chairs in any room. |
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