Louis XVI, sign. N.T. PORROT (Noël-Toussaint Porrot, Master 1761), Paris circa 1780.

Beech fluted and extraordinarily finely carved with rosettes, palmettes and decorative frieze as well as white painted and partly gilded. Trapezoidal seat on a straight frame with fluted column legs. Flat, arched backrest with slightly protruding armrests on curved supports. Polychrome silk cover with flowers, leaves and geometric motifs. The frame restored. 65x52x44x97 cm.

Provenance: From a French collection. Rare pair of perfect quality in very good condition. N.T. Porrot lived in the Rue du Pont-aux-Choux for 25 years, until the Revolution, and made numerous small Louis XV fauteuils "en cabriolet", but also Louis XVI furniture such as chairs, canapés and recamières, all of high quality and perfect execution, with good proportions and meticulous carving. Among his best works is an elegant small canapé in "style Louis XV à dossier enveloppant", which was sold in Paris in 1968. Porrot also supplied carved wood for seating furniture by Nicolas Delaporte, Marget (called Gillet) and by Lange de Chanvalon, but was also a dealer and worked with the gilder Desfontaines. Important pieces of furniture bear Porrot's signature, among them a beautiful Louis XVI chair richly decorated with pearls, once owned by Louis Touzain, and two small fauteuils with curved forms, which are part of the Ameublement of the Comte du Faij de Carsix in the Château de Parigny (Manche). 

Lit.: P. Kjellberg, Le mobilier français au XVIIIème siècle, Paris 1989; "