19th c. Tapestry Armchair & Ottoman

The wing chair was made to be disappeared into, its high sides closing off the draft and the world, and this one comes dressed corner to corner in tapestry. Found in Le Mans and dating to the end of the 19th century, the chair and its footstool stand on heavy turned legs joined by box stretchers in the Louis XIII style, covered in a verdure floral edged with a fringed skirt. The Louis XIII style goes back to the early 1600s, all robust turning and rich tapestry, some of the first French furniture built for real comfort, and it came back into fashion in the 1800s when this set was made and upholstered just as the originals were. Sylvie sets the pair by a window with a lamp and a cup, a chair to read in until the afternoon is gone.