18th Century Reclining Wing Armchair

This type of French reclining armchair is also called 'Fauteuil' a Crémallaire, de malade or Molière chair. Crémaillère stands for the iron brackets which make reclining possible, de malade or Molière because they were made to take a nap without getting up (malade means not well). The one onwned by Molière, the famous 17th century, French playwriter, was saved and today visible in the Paris Museum of Decorative arts. Our example is quite rare because it combines a beautifully sculpted elm base with a elegant wingshaped back. The design is of a hig quality regional early Régence (1715-1723) style. The base, carcas as well as the iron hinges are original. The whole chair is handpegged and manually constructed from nicely grained elm. We invisibly reinforced the structure so it now very sturdy and quite ready to support a Sunday nap. The beautiful patina of the wood was conservated and complemented with a new upholstery in a soft red natural linnen. 70 x 66 x 120 Ref. 5005