Jacob Frères

This curule armchair is a characteristic and highly refined example of the production of the Jacob Frères workshop during the Directoire and early Consulate period, between 1796 and 1803. Stamped Jacob Frères rue Meslée, it belongs to a decisive moment in the history of French furniture, when the second generation of the Jacob dynasty asserted itself as one of the principal interpreters of the new neo-antique taste that emerged after the Revolution.

The Jacob brothers—Georges II (1768-1803) and François-Honoré-Georges (1770-1841) —continued and expanded the artistic direction initiated by their father, Georges Jacob (1739-1814), adapting it to a radically transformed social and political context. Their workshop played a central role in translating theoretical and graphic models into tangible furniture, combining technical mastery with a remarkable capacity to embody new aesthetic ideals. The present armchair illustrates this ambition through its sober structure, precise proportions and disciplined ornamentation, all subordinated to the clarity of form.



A design after Charles Percier

The design of this model is closely linked to the work of Charles Percier (1764-1838), whose influence on the decorative arts at the turn of the century was decisive. Alongside Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (1762-1853), Percier developed a rigorously archaeological approach to antiquity, nourished by his studies in Rome and disseminated through drawings, engravings and published projects. His collaboration with the Jacob workshop, initiated in the early 1790s, was fundamental in shaping the vocabulary of Directoire furniture. Drawings attributed to Percier or to the Percier–Fontaine agency, conceived for the Jacob firm, show curule seats whose essential lines and curved profiles correspond closely to the present armchair. These projects demonstrate how the architects provided conceptual frameworks that the Jacob brothers translated into functional yet sculpturally coherent objects.



The Etruscan taste

The taste embodied by this armchair is that of the so-called goût à l’étrusque, which dominated French interiors in the aftermath of the Revolution. Rejecting the excesses of late Louis XVI ornament, this aesthetic favored simplicity, geometry and forms directly inspired by ancient models. The curule form itself derives from the ancient Roman sella curulis, an emblematic seat of power reserved for magistrates invested with imperium. Of Etruscan origin, this type of seat was characterized by an X-shaped structure with curved legs, traditionally devoid of back or arms. Its revival at the end of the 18th century transformed a symbol of authority into a piece of domestic furniture, charged with moral and political meaning.

In adapting the ancient prototype, the Jacob brothers introduced subtle modifications that made the form suitable for modern use: a shaped backrest, arm supports integrated into the continuous curve of the structure, and the use of mahogany, whose warm tone and fine grain enhanced the purity of the design. The resulting armchair achieves a delicate balance between archaeological reference and contemporary comfort, between symbolic heritage and refined craftsmanship.



Through its association with the Jacob Frères workshop, its close relationship to Percier’s drawings, and its direct reference to the curule form, this armchair stands as a particularly eloquent expression of Directoire aesthetics. It reflects a moment when furniture became a vehicle for ideological renewal, translating the rediscovery of antiquity into forms that were at once intellectual, functional and visually compelling.