Armchair after 1756

This armchair was made in France by Jean-Baptiste Lebas, sometime after he became a master in 1756. The extravagance of the gilded frame and the rich fabric speak to the culture of aristocratic luxury that defined France during the reign of Louis XV. Furniture making at this time was governed by strict guild regulations, and only a master could produce work of this caliber. We can learn a lot from this chair, not just about the fashions and tastes of the French court, but about the economic and social structures that enabled its production. The chair is self-consciously stylish, an expression of the decorative Rococo style that dominated the French court, but it also epitomizes the rigid social hierarchy of pre-revolutionary France. To really understand this object, we can investigate guild records, royal inventories, and fashion plates. Only then can we truly understand the social and institutional context that gave rise to such objects.