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Louis XVI Stool by Claude Sené

About the Item

One could be forgiven for thinking Claude Sené was a poor speller and dyslexic, since his stamp has a ‘G’ initial for Claude, and an inverted ‘N’ in Sené. Yet his work as a furniture maker is perfection. In 18th-century Paris, the Sené family was a well-known dynasty of joiners. Claude was admitted to the guild in 1743, and worked in the rococo style (associated with Louis XV), although, just before his 1780 retirement, he worked briefly in the succeeding neo-classical style (associated with Louis XVI). The rich have always competed in the size and splendor of their houses, but in 18th-century France aristocrats and financiers also competed in their refinement, taste, and style, which can’t be bought. In their quest for luxurious perfection, more than a few went bankrupt. Neither money nor sophistication was lacking in the case of the previous owner of this stool, Henry Ford II. He maintained -- besides an ocean-going yacht and residences in London and Palm Beach -- a succession of houses in Grosse Pointe, close to the Ford Motor Company headquarters in Detroit, and their factories, that the family dynasty would control over four generations. Those Grosse Pointe houses were decorated by McMillen, the New York decorating firm. Over the years and three marriages, Mr. Ford moved from house to house, taking much of his 18th century French and English furniture with him, along with his collection of Impressionist masterpieces. We don’t know when, or for which house, our stool had been purchased, but we did learn from his stepdaughter that it graced the powder room of the last of them, at 160 Provencal Road. And there it remained until it was shipped by his widow, Kathleen, along with ormolu-mounted fireplaces, Grinling Gibbons paneling, and a slew of Louis-Louis and Georgian furniture, to 300 North Lake Way, the Palm Beach house she built for herself.
  • Creator:
    Claude I Sené (Maker)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 19 in (48.26 cm)Width: 15 in (38.1 cm)Depth: 15 in (38.1 cm)
  • Style:
    Louis XVI (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
    1770-1779
  • Date of Manufacture:
    circa 1775
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use. It was reupholstered.
  • Seller Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1061426154142
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