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Lot Essay
This impressive and finely-carved suite executed by Henri Jacob, originally formed part of a remarkably large suite of thirty seats, all covered in Beauvais tapestry, which once stood in the collections of the Comte and Comtesse Grefuhle until dispersed in the early 20th Century.
THE GREFFUHLES
The thirty-piece suite by Henri Jacob originally comprised a pair of canapés, a pair of marquises, a pair of bergères en gondole, a set
of sixteen fauteuils, four voyeuses and four side-chairs. As J. Badin explained in 1909, this incredibly large suite would have then ranked amongst the most important ones, as 18th Century Beauvais-covered suites rarely included more than about twenty seats (J. Badin, La Manufacture de Tapisseries de Beauvais, Paris, 1909). Although the whereabouts of this suite remained tantalizingly unknown until the early 20th Century, all thirty seats formed part of the important collection of the Comte and Comtesse Grefuhle, until sold at auction in London in 1937. The most recent group of seat-furniture from this magnificent suite to have come to auction was a set of four fauteuils, which was sold at Christie's, New York, 21 October 1997, lot 218.
Henry Grefuhle (1848-1932) was the sole heir to an important family of bankers and property owners which had flourished during the French Revolution. He was the son of Louis-Charles Grefuhle (1814-1888) and Félicité-Pauline-Marie de la Rochefoucauld d’Estissac (1824- 1911). In 1878 Grefuhle married Elisabeth de Riquet de Caraman (1860-1952) and had a daughter Élaine (1882-1958) who married Armand de Gramont (1879-1962). Elisabeth, comtesse de Grefuhle was a renowned beauty and the uncontested queen of the salons of the Faubourg Saint-Germain. She was idolised by Proust, amongst others, and famously served as the inspiration for the Duchesse de Guermantes in his novel A la Recherche du Temps Perdu. Widely respected as an arbiter of taste, she launched a fashion for greyhound racing, was a patron of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and promoted many other artists in high society which included Rodin, Moreau and, in particular, Whistler.
The comte and comtesse shared their time between their Parisian hôtel particulier on the rue d’Astorg and their résidence de chasse, the Château de Bois-Boudran near Fontenailles, Seine-et-Marne. It is not certain however which of the two Grefuhle residences the present suite of seat furniture formerly stood in. The stencilled mark on the underside of one sofa is that of Henry Penon (1830-1907), tapissier décorateur to Empress Eugénie and no doubt his company, maison Penon Frères, was employed to restore the suite in the late 19th century for the Grefuhles. The Grefuhle collections were partly dispersed several years after Henry’s death in 1932, whilst the rest was bequeathed to his daughter Elaine, duchesse de Gramont, upon the death of her mother Elisabeth in 1952.
HENRI JACOB: ‘UN MENUISIER-ÉBÉNISTE ORIGINAL’
Henri Jacob (d.1824) was born in 1753 and trained with his cousin Georges Jacob, the celebrated menuisier, for six years before receiving his maîtrise in 1779. He became an accomplished and prolific menuisier-ébéniste, counting amongst his most illustrious clients the future Paul I of Russia and his wife Maria Feodorovna. As the future tsar and his spouse travelled to France as the comte and comtesse du Nord in 1782, they ordered over two hundred chairs and other pieces of furniture from Jacob for Pavlovsk, their new palace near St. Petersburg (D. Ledoux-Lebard, ‘Henri Jacob, un menuisier-ébéniste original’, L’Estampille-Objet d’Art, March 1995, pp. 46-57). Like his cousin Georges, Henri was able to produce both seats and furniture towards the end of his career, after the abolition of the guilds. His oeuvre is often compared with that of his celebrated cousin, given the undeniable similarities and rapprochements, the impeccable quality of his work and the fact that both worked for the Crown. An exquisite pair of Directoire mahogany chairs executed by Henri circa 1790, featuring interlaced pierced splats with hoof feet, is in the Louvre (ill. Bill G. B. Pallot, Furniture Collections in the Musée du Louvre, vol II, Dijon, 1993, no.66). The latter pair exemplifes Jacob's remarkable
production of Directoire (and later Consulat) mahogany seats; and the comparatively rare number of Louis XVI sieges he produced makes the present suite all the more desirable.
THE GREFFUHLES
The thirty-piece suite by Henri Jacob originally comprised a pair of canapés, a pair of marquises, a pair of bergères en gondole, a set
of sixteen fauteuils, four voyeuses and four side-chairs. As J. Badin explained in 1909, this incredibly large suite would have then ranked amongst the most important ones, as 18th Century Beauvais-covered suites rarely included more than about twenty seats (J. Badin, La Manufacture de Tapisseries de Beauvais, Paris, 1909). Although the whereabouts of this suite remained tantalizingly unknown until the early 20th Century, all thirty seats formed part of the important collection of the Comte and Comtesse Grefuhle, until sold at auction in London in 1937. The most recent group of seat-furniture from this magnificent suite to have come to auction was a set of four fauteuils, which was sold at Christie's, New York, 21 October 1997, lot 218.
Henry Grefuhle (1848-1932) was the sole heir to an important family of bankers and property owners which had flourished during the French Revolution. He was the son of Louis-Charles Grefuhle (1814-1888) and Félicité-Pauline-Marie de la Rochefoucauld d’Estissac (1824- 1911). In 1878 Grefuhle married Elisabeth de Riquet de Caraman (1860-1952) and had a daughter Élaine (1882-1958) who married Armand de Gramont (1879-1962). Elisabeth, comtesse de Grefuhle was a renowned beauty and the uncontested queen of the salons of the Faubourg Saint-Germain. She was idolised by Proust, amongst others, and famously served as the inspiration for the Duchesse de Guermantes in his novel A la Recherche du Temps Perdu. Widely respected as an arbiter of taste, she launched a fashion for greyhound racing, was a patron of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and promoted many other artists in high society which included Rodin, Moreau and, in particular, Whistler.
The comte and comtesse shared their time between their Parisian hôtel particulier on the rue d’Astorg and their résidence de chasse, the Château de Bois-Boudran near Fontenailles, Seine-et-Marne. It is not certain however which of the two Grefuhle residences the present suite of seat furniture formerly stood in. The stencilled mark on the underside of one sofa is that of Henry Penon (1830-1907), tapissier décorateur to Empress Eugénie and no doubt his company, maison Penon Frères, was employed to restore the suite in the late 19th century for the Grefuhles. The Grefuhle collections were partly dispersed several years after Henry’s death in 1932, whilst the rest was bequeathed to his daughter Elaine, duchesse de Gramont, upon the death of her mother Elisabeth in 1952.
HENRI JACOB: ‘UN MENUISIER-ÉBÉNISTE ORIGINAL’
Henri Jacob (d.1824) was born in 1753 and trained with his cousin Georges Jacob, the celebrated menuisier, for six years before receiving his maîtrise in 1779. He became an accomplished and prolific menuisier-ébéniste, counting amongst his most illustrious clients the future Paul I of Russia and his wife Maria Feodorovna. As the future tsar and his spouse travelled to France as the comte and comtesse du Nord in 1782, they ordered over two hundred chairs and other pieces of furniture from Jacob for Pavlovsk, their new palace near St. Petersburg (D. Ledoux-Lebard, ‘Henri Jacob, un menuisier-ébéniste original’, L’Estampille-Objet d’Art, March 1995, pp. 46-57). Like his cousin Georges, Henri was able to produce both seats and furniture towards the end of his career, after the abolition of the guilds. His oeuvre is often compared with that of his celebrated cousin, given the undeniable similarities and rapprochements, the impeccable quality of his work and the fact that both worked for the Crown. An exquisite pair of Directoire mahogany chairs executed by Henri circa 1790, featuring interlaced pierced splats with hoof feet, is in the Louvre (ill. Bill G. B. Pallot, Furniture Collections in the Musée du Louvre, vol II, Dijon, 1993, no.66). The latter pair exemplifes Jacob's remarkable
production of Directoire (and later Consulat) mahogany seats; and the comparatively rare number of Louis XVI sieges he produced makes the present suite all the more desirable.