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Collections > Furniture > Suite of seat furniture

Suite of seat furniture

This spectacular suite of French giltwood seat furniture is an exciting new acquisition by the Bowes Museum. The suite is the bequest of Henry Van den Bergh through the National Art Collections Fund. Henry Van den Bergh (1851-1937) was the son of Simon Van den Bergh, founder of Van den Bergh Foods, one of the first companies to commercially produce margarine in the 1870s, and which was to eventually merge with two other companies to become Unilever. He was an avid collector of art and artefacts and donated, through the Art Fund, many works of art during his lifetime. The suite comprises two settees and six armchairs, and dates to around 1780. The richly carved decoration is of very high quality and condition. The tapestry upholstery depicts figurative and animal scenes, with decorative festoons and floral borders on a pink ground. Unfortunately the suite is unstamped, but its quality suggests that it must have been produced by an important cabinet maker, possibly Georges Jacob, Louis Delanois, or Jean-Baptiste Claude Sen.0020 The Victoria and Albert Museum have generously supported the conservation of the suite. Size: Length of back: 58 cm. Length of front: 69 cm Height of back: 99 cm. Height of seat: 56 cm. Height of arm: 67 cm. Depth: 59 cm. Ensuite with 2005.17.A-H

School: French

Place: France

Object Type: armchair

Period: Louis XVI

Actual Date: c.1780

Century: 18th century

Materials: Tapestry, Giltwood

Museum Accession Number: 2005.17.F/FW