Male Narrator This suite of furniture, which includes armchairs and a settee, is covered with tapestry-woven upholstery. An enthusiastic textile collector like J. Paul Getty relished such acquisitions because of the combination of media and artistry.
[classical piano]
Dating from the era of Napoleon Bonaparte, the thick, rectilinear frames reflect the neoclassical style popular during his reign. The use of solid mahogany, a material available only by import in France, is remarkable. At this time, France was blockaded by the English navy, so obtaining such an abundance of the exotic material was very difficult. The vertical bronze mounts on the front of the legs echo the horizontal pattern on the front of the seat cushion, adding to the visual splendor.
The upholstery covers feature musical instruments and birds, so it’s possible that the suite of seat furniture was intended for a music room. Their superb condition suggests that they were used with the greatest care, if at all.
Getty purchased the set in Paris in 1938 and kept it in his Malibu home for nearly thirty years before donating it to the museum, an indication of how much pleasure he took in its refined beauty.
