The Jacobs are a very famous family of carpenters and cabinetmakers. They are well known for the quality of their seating productions. There has been the succession of three generations from Louis XV to Louis-Philippe who offer exceptional armchairs for your comfort.
This is the case of the Jacob empire armchair. What's his story? What materials are used in the manufacture of this furniture? How do we distinguish them?
The story of the Jacob Empire armchair
The Jacobs of the 18th and 19th centuries were the art of siege. The founder of the dynasty, Georges Jacob from 1739 to 1814, had turned to the manufacture of beds and wood seats. This specialist of the old armchair possesses an overflowing imagination that outperforms him among his contemporaries.
He is constantly looking for new shapes, more beautiful shapes than the previous ones. His first workshop was established at Clery Street, On the Craftsmen's Street of the Headquarters and then at Meslée Street in 1775.
It was during this period that he succeeded in executing great royal commissions. He made incredible furniture during this notable period of his career. They are elegant and harmonious works derived from a perfect execution and technique.
Georges Jacob was the first English-inspired carpenter who used mahogany. The Louis XVI seats he produced are innovative and numerous. Georges Jacob was the considerable influence of his apprenticeship with Louis Delanois. The latter is the first to make neoclassical seats. In the late 1780s, the talented Georges Jacob made seats inspired by Greco-Roman antiquity. It is thus the forerunner of the Empire furniture style. It should be noted that the production of Jacob-type furniture during the reign of Louis XVI is important and diverse.
There are marquees, plenty of seats, two-seater sofas, rest beds, voyeurs, series of armchairs, screens, stools, bedwoods and consoles. Georges Jacob is credited with several developments, including console feet, open backs, quiver feet, horseshoe seating and the curule seat from the seats and furniture of Roman antiquity.
François-Honoré-Georges, still known as Jacob-Desmalter, had taken over the torch from his older brother. He had continued the activities by taking the name Jacob Desmalter. He has managed to grow the business and develop a very prestigious clientele, whether French or international. He had become one of the most popular suppliers of the Imperial Furniture Guard as well as the royal one. He ran the workshop with 332 workers under the Bourbon Restoration to meet the orders of restoration era armchairs preceding the Napoleon models.
The materials of Jacob's Empire armchairs
The manufacturers of Empire Jacob furniture use various materials. For Jacob-Desmalter's empire armchair, he called upon the fountain and Percier ornemanists as well as the sketches of the great painter. This furniture is inspired by Greco-Roman antiquity.
He used ebony wood to be able to honor the furniture orders made by Napoleon I for the furnishings of the castles of Compiègne, Saint-Cloud, Malmaison, Fontainebleau and others. This furniture can also be found in several European imperial and royal palaces such as St. Petersburg, Windsor and Potsdam.
The Bonaparte family, the great dignitaries and some notables have made the order of the Jacob empire furniture. The armchair worsens under Jacob-Desmalter is characterized by a certain quality of design, original shapes and clean lines. The chiseled gilded bronzes used are Thomire's achievements.
Other materials used are mahogany and native woods such as laked wood, maple, gilded wood and yew. The backs of the armchairs are butt with a very pronounced curve and headband. These armchairs have saber-like hind legs. Fantastic animals as well as Egyptian busts are carved on it. The lacrosse armchairs are made of ash magnifying glass or mahogany. The armchairs are open-backed, the feet shapely that are finished in volutes.
Jacob stamps
The stamps are usually located under the first upper crossbar of the armchair. To see her flip the armchair, look under the crossbar, if it is signed, you will find a signature
The different models of Empire Jacob armchair
There are different types of Jacob empire armchair with different stamps:
The first on the list is the Empire armchair of the Compiègne Palace. It dates from the beginning of the 19th century. It's a large armchair made of lase beech. It comes from the Palace of Compiègne period Empire. It is stamped Jacob D Rue Meslée. This armchair is also lined with a grey blue velvet. There is one of the models found in the inventory of the Château de Compiègne of 1855. It is painted wood with turned feet of square shape. They are lined with hair and covered in reps cloth. This one is red and green crack. This chair was part of a pair that was actually in the bedroom of Building 12. It is housed in the 'court of the Baths'. These armchairs went on sale in 1884.
The other model is the empire armchair stamped Jacob D meslée rue Meslée. This Empire-era armchair is made of golden beech and green laqué. It has sabre-type hind feet and spindle anterior feet. He's got palmettes. The manufacturer used a mixture of pigment, glue and varnish.
There is also the Empire armchair of the Compiègne Palace. It's stamped Jacob. This large armchair is made of gilded and lay beech. It comes from the Palace of Compiègne. It is lined with a golden yellow leather. His feet are turned and the tile in feather. It is covered in yellow striped velvet. The nails used in the manufacture are golden.
An Empire armchair that is Jacob-stamped is a large armchair made of lase beech. It dates back to the Empire era. It is board-inspired. It was used in the meantime by jacob's house from 1803 to 1813. The MRCV brand he bears corresponds well to the trademark of ownership that dates back to the Louis XVIII era. In 1863, this armchair was moved from Versailles to Fontainebleau. It was reportedly used in the apartment and in the services of the Great Veneur. It was under Napoleon III. The seat is covered in embossed green velvet. It is referred to as a lacrosse armchair.