Side chair
Unknown Artist
ca. 1740
Medium
Carved and stained beechwood; caning
Dimensions
Overall: 37 7/8 × 19 3/4 × 17 7/8 in. (96.2 × 50.2 × 45.4 cm)
Classification
Woodwork-Furniture
Culture
French
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1906
Accession Number
07.225.38
Art Historical Context
This elegant side chair, crafted around 1740 in France, exemplifies the refined furniture of the Louis XV era, a time when Rococo style reigned supreme. Made from carved and stained beechwood with a caned seat, it measures about 38 inches tall, designed for comfort in opulent interiors. Beechwood was prized for its fine grain, ideal for intricate carvings that often featured scrolling motifs, shells, and floral accents—hallmarks of Rococo's playful, asymmetrical exuberance departing from the heavier Baroque forms. The chair's caning, a lightweight and breathable material woven from rattan, ad...