Folding stool (pliant) (one of a pair)
Medium
Carved and painted beechwood, covered in pink silk
Dimensions
18 1/4 in. × 27 in. × 20 1/4 in. (46.4 × 68.6 × 51.4 cm)
Classification
Woodwork-Furniture
Culture
French
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 1977
Accession Number
1977.102.10
Art Historical Context
Step into the opulent world of late 18th-century France with this exquisite folding stool, or *pliant*, crafted in 1786 by a masterful team of Parisian artisans: Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené, the renowned *menuisier* (cabinetmaker), alongside Nicolas François Vallois, Louis-François Chatard, and Chaudron. Produced during the lavish final years of the Ancien Régime, just before the French Revolution, this piece—one of a pair—exemplifies the neoclassical elegance favored by Louis XVI's court. Sené, who supplied furniture to Versailles, specialized in such refined seating, blending functionality wit...
About the Artist
Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené|Nicolas François Vallois|Louis-François Chatard|Chaudron ( | ) · 1748 |1749 –1803 |1819
1748–1803|ca. 1749–1819