Late 18th Century Set of 6 Directoire “Etrusque” Side Chairs, Manner of G. Jacob

Georges Jacob was one of the most prominent Parisian chair-makers who became a maître-ebéniste in 1765. He worked for the French royalty and high nobility, e.g. for Mari-Antoinette at Versailles and especially for Monsieur, the brother of the king, who became his best client. In 1791, the guild system was abolished and Jacob diversified his workshop to include cabinet-making and mounted bronzes. Having survived the Revolution with the assistance of the painter Jacques Louis David, Jacob retired in 1796 and left his workshop to his two sons, Georges II and François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter, known as Jacob Frères. The workshop of Jacob became a supplier of furniture to the revolutionary Committee of Public Safety and subsequently to Emperor Napoleon. The works of Jacob are exhibited in the most important international museums and collections such as the Chateaus of Chantilly and Fontainebleau, The Louvre and Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the Wallace Collection in London, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the New York Metropolitan Museum, to name a few.

Compare: Kjellberg, Pierre: Le mobilier francais du XVIIIe siecle, Paris, 2008, p. 469, fig. g