A rare pair of Louis XV carved giltwood fauteuils attributed to Jacques-Jean-Baptiste Tilliard circa 1765

upholstered in eighteenth-century Beauvais tapestry.

Charles Stuart, 1st Baron Stuart de Rothesay (1779-1845)
His daughter, Louisa Anne Beresford, Marchioness of Waterford (1818-1891)
And by descent, sold Christie's London, April 29, 1954, lot 107

With scattered age and construction cracks, dents, abrasions and scuffs. Carving with small losses, chips and abrasions; not extensive. Central cartouche of seat rail of one chair with loss to bottom as visible in catalogue illustration. Gesso with abrasions and chips. Gilding probably oiginal and now with rubbing, some losses and surface dirt. Underside with painted gesso and with the numbers "934" and "933."
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This pair of exceptionally conceived and superbly executed fauteuils is part of a salon suite formerly in the collection of the Marquesses of Waterford and sold Christie’s London, April 29, 1954, lots 107-109. The group, which was called the “Waterford Suite,” comprised a set of four fauteuils, two of which were stamped by Tilliard, a matching canapé and a pair of chairs. It is possible that the suite contained more pieces originally as an unstamped fauteuil (one of a pair) in a private collection in Paris of this model but with small differences and attributed to Tilliard is illustrated Bill G.B. Pallot, L'Art du Siège au XVIIIe Siècle en France, Paris, 1987, pp. 210-211. A matching canapé (one of a pair) from the same collection stamped Tilliard and formerly in the Espirito Santo collection is illustrated op. cit., p. 210. The same chairs are illustrated Pierre Verlet, Les Ebénistes du XVIIIe Siècle Français, Paris, 1963, pp. 256-257.

The provenance assigned to the suite in 1954 states that they derive from Louisa, Marchioness of Waterford, daughter and co-heiress of Charles, Lord Stuart de Rothesay. Louisa, née Stuart, married Henry de La Poer Beresford, 3^rd Marquess of Waterford (1811-1859) and settled in Curraghmore House in Portlaw, Ireland. Louisa’s father was Charles Stuart, 1^st Baron Stuart de Rothesay (1779-1845) who served as ambassador to France, Russia and Holland. He lived in Paris between 1818 and 1824 and again between 1828 and 1830. Part of an aristocratic collecting circle, Stuart started collecting in earnest after his marriage in 1816. His earliest purchases, mainly in France, were of Empire furniture  very possibly intended for his London residence in Carlton House Terrace. His later purchases involved English dealers such as Nixon and Gunn. See Sarah Medlam, The Bettine, Lady Abington Collection: A Handbook, London, 1996, pp. 19-43 for a close examination of Stuart's purchases.  It is possible that he had purchased these chairs during his time in France and later took them to England where they were most likely placed in the family’s new home, Highcliffe Castle. Highcliffe Castle, which was built on the site of Highcliffe House, a Georgian estate designed by Robert Adam, was commissioned by Stuart in 1831 and completed in 1835 according to the design by the architect William Donthorne. The house was most likely furnished with many pieces that had been collected by the family during their stay in France. Since the early 1830s saw the zenith of the Louis XV revival style in England, the suite must have been then considered extremely desirable and fashionable. When Baron de Rothesay died in 1845 his wife, Lady Elizabeth Margaret, inherited the entire collection. Since Louisa’s only sister Charlotte died in 1861, Louisa became the sole heir to the de Rothesay estate upon her mother’s death in 1867. As her marriage to the Marquess of Waterford produced no heir, Highcliffe and its contents, presumably including the “Waterford Suite,” were inherited at her death in 1891 by the son of one of Louisa’s cousins, Edward James Montagu Stuart Wortley who sold the house to his son-in-law the 8^th Earl of Abingdon in 1928, just six years before his death. The house was again sold by the Earl and Countess of Abingdon in 1949 to a Catholic missionary order, four years before the widow Stuart Wortley’s (née Guthrie) death in 1953. The contents of the house were offered for sale by Christie’s on July 6-7, 1949 by the earl and the countess, while the remainder of the collection was eventually bequeathed to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in the late 1980s, see Medlam, op. cit.       

Louisa Anne Beresford, Marchioness of Waterford (1818-1891)

Born in Paris during her father’s ambassadorial position in France, Louisa began taking art classes early in her life. Her instructors included Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Ruskin and Louisa eventually became a leading female amateur artist of the Pre-Raphaelite school who was most celebrated for her watercolors. Besides art, religion and philanthropy played important roles in her life and she is credited with founding charitable societies and funding schools. After the death of her husband the Marquess of Waterford in 1859, she became even more involved with numerous charities and also dedicated her life to preserving Highcliffe Castle which, by the 1880s, was gravely endangered by land erosion. Louisa, who was obviously dedicated to conserving her beloved Highcliffe and its contents, commissioned a drainage system to stop the erosion and preserve the family estate.

Jacques-Jean-Baptiste Tillard (1723-1798)

Sometimes known as Jean-Baptiste II, he served a long apprenticeship in the workshop of his celebrated father, Jean-Baptiste Tilliard. He took over his father's atelier in the rue de Cléry, Aux Armes de France, and in 1766 succeeded him as menuisier du Garde-Meuble du Roi. Jacques-Jean-Baptiste Tilliard ran the workshop until the time of the Revolution, surviving a clientele which included the royal family (e.g. an important commission in 1777 for the private wardrobe of Princess Victoire at Versailles), the Prince de Soubise, the Ducs d'Aiguillon and d'Antin, the Duchesse de Mazarin and the Duchesse de Parme, daughter of Louis XV.