id: 125220 accession number: 1947.183.2 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1947.183.2 updated: 2023-03-08 14:59:02.869000 Armchair (1 of 4), before 1717. Royal Savonnerie Manufactory, Chaillot Workshops (French, est. 1627). Carved wood, Savonnerie knotted-pile (symmetrical rug knot) upholstery; wool, hemp; overall: 121.9 x 70.5 x 55.3 cm (48 x 27 3/4 x 21 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1947.183.2 title: Armchair (1 of 4) title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: before 1717 creation date earliest: 1712 creation date latest: 1717 current location: 215 French, German, and Dutch creditline: John L. Severance Fund copyright: --- culture: France, 18th century technique: carved wood, Savonnerie knotted-pile (symmetrical rug knot) upholstery; wool, hemp department: Decorative Art and Design collection: Furniture type: Furniture and woodwork find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Royal Savonnerie Manufactory, Chaillot Workshops (French, est. 1627) - manufacturer --- measurements: Overall: 121.9 x 70.5 x 55.3 cm (48 x 27 3/4 x 21 3/4 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE formed part of original suite of tapestries and furniture made for marriage of Isabella Merode-Westerloo and Franz Joseph Czernin de Chaudnitz in 1717; remained in the family until 1930 or 1931, when they were sold to a dealer. (A. & R. Ball, New York). date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: These chairs belong to a suite that includes a settee (also in the CMA’s collection) and a tapestry made for a count and countess to mark their wedding in 1717. Furniture of this scale was usually placed against the wall in grand reception halls, more as a display of wealth than for use. Upholstered in Savonnerie tapestries, this suite was among the most treasured and expensive example anyone could own and typically reserved for royalty.

To add decorative and intellectual interest to the textiles, weavers incorporated symbols depicting various stories from the Fables of Jean de La Fontaine, published from 1668 to 1694 and largely adapted from Aesop and other early storytellers. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 286 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n58 Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 132-133 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1947.183.2/1947.183.2_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1947.183.2/1947.183.2_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1947.183.2/1947.183.2_full.tif