A LOUIS XVI GILTWOOD CANAPE

This canapé was originally en suite with a grey-painted fauteuil stamped by Jean-Baptiste Sené, sold at Christie's Monaco, 12 December 1999, lot 870. The sprung upholstery of this example prevents full examination for the presence of a stamp.

Jean-Baptiste Sené (1748-1803) dominated the production of menuiserie in Paris during the last years of the ancien régime. His principal clients were the King and the Queen and from 1785-1791 he provided seat-furniture, beds, consoles, folding stools, footstools, screens, etc. for Fontainebleau, The Tuileries, Versailles and particularly Saint-Cloud. Sené is known to have sub-contracted the carving of much of his Royal commisions to his favorite sculpteurs, Pierre Laurent, Nicolas Vallois and Alexandre Régnier, and the gilding to Louis Chatard - who seems to have enjoyed a virtual monopoly on pieces destined for the Royal family.