Existing comment:
Francois II Foliot
Jacques Gondouin
Chaise, Paris, France, 1779
This chair is literally fit for a king. Originally part of a suite of furniture commissioned for Marie Antoineette's private rooms at the palace of Versailles, the chaise was designated for Louis XVI's use when he visited the queen. New Yorker Gouverneur Morris, a witness to the French Revolution, purchased the suite in 1793 at the auctions that were held after the royal couple's execution. Morris used the elaborate gilded furnishings, redolent of monarchical power, to decorate his Bronx estate, Morrisania. His widow donated the royal seat in 1817 for the use of the New-York Historical Society's president. |