A REGENCE BEECHWOOD CANED FAUTEUIL

A nearly identical example of this model, stamped by the unrecorded menuisier P. Guerillot, was sold in the collection sale of Heli de Talleyrand Duc de Talleyrand, Christie's, Paris, 26 November 2005, lot 261 (€19,200, with premium).
This avant garde fauteuil illustrates a moment of flux in the history of furniture, at the crossroads of the Régence et Louis XV styles. The presence of the bat wing motif on the left upright, called "en aile de chauve-souris", is very much in the Régence spirit, while the change towards Louis XV can subtly be seen flowing into the design through the cabriole legs, curve to the arms, and the disappearance of the stretcher.