Lot 50
Pierre Chareau
French (1883-1950)
Three-Piece Salon Suite

oak and fabric upholstery
comprising one sofa and two armchairs
sofa: 38 1/2 x 87 x 40 1/2 inches
armchair: 38 1/2 x 44 x 40 inches

Provenance:
Property from the Collection of Seymour Stein
Sotheby's London, 29 March 1996, lot 277;
Sotheby's New York, 'The Collecting Eye of Seymour Stein,' 11 December 2003, lot 133
Literature:
Maurice Dufrene, ed., Ensembles Mobiliers: Exposition Internationale 1925, vol. III, Paris, 1925, pl. 14 (for a period photograph illustrating this armchair model in Chareau's dining room of une habitation coloniale at the 1925 Paris Exposition),
,Maurice Dufrene, ed., Authentic Art Deco Interiors from the 1925 Paris Exhibition, reprint, Woodbridge, 1989, pl. 89 (for the same period photograph)

The present suite's original upholstery bore the cloth label of Poteau & Cie Décorateurs 59, Rue de Turenne, 59 Paris.

The authorship of this suite has been changed to 'after a design by Pierre Chareau.' It is probable that the firm Poteau & Cie was the manufacturer of this suite in the 1920s. What is unclear is the extent of the relationship between Chareau and Poteau & Cie.

in as found condition, each with wear commensurate with age and use, some losses and staining to upholstery, the seat rail to one armchair detached, scuffs and abrasions to feet, the bottom back rail of the couch requires restoration, each with pronounced areas of restoration