Armchair (Bergère à la reine) (one of a pair) (part of a set)

Jean-Baptiste-Bernard Demay

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

These bergères were part of the same set as the two armchairs (1977.102.11, .12) and the sofa (1973.305.1) also in the collection, formerly in the possession of the Marquise de Ganay. They were made by Jean-Baptiste Demay, whose mark is stamped beneath the back rail of the seats. Master in 1784, Demay worked in Paris and was a supplier to the court and especially to the queen Marie-Antoinette. Made around 1785, these bergères were executed in carved and gilded beechwood and are emblematic of the neoclassical style. The top rail of the back is arched in the center en anse de panier (basket handle) and carved with a floral wreath, sprays of laurel, and oak leaves. The two curving arms break forward from each end of the top rail where they are surmounted by a pinecone finial reminiscent of the famous pigna in the Belvedere Court at the Vatican palace. The acanthus scrolls, fluted half columns, guilloches and pearls which decorate the frames are frequently used during Louis XVI’s reign.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art