Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
These chairs belong to a suite that includes a settee (also in the CMA’s collection) and a tapestry made for a count and countess to mark their wedding in 1717. Furniture of this scale was usually placed against the wall in grand reception halls, more as a display of wealth than for use. Upholstered in Savonnerie tapestries, this suite was among the most treasured and expensive example anyone could own and was typically reserved for royalty. <br> <br>To add decorative and intellectual interest to the textiles, weavers incorporated symbols depicting various stories from the <em>Fables of Jean de La Fontaine</em>, published from 1668 to 1694 and largely adapted from Aesop and other early storytellers.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
125218
label
Set of Four Armchairs and Settee
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
125218
contentType
object
title
Set of Four Armchairs and Settee
description
These chairs belong to a suite that includes a settee (also in the CMA’s collection) and a tapestry made for a count and countess to mark their wedding in 1717. Furniture of this scale was usually placed against the wall in grand reception halls, more as a display of wealth than for use. Upholstered in Savonnerie tapestries, this suite was among the most treasured and expensive example anyone could own and was typically reserved for royalty. <br> <br>To add decorative and intellectual interest to the textiles, weavers incorporated symbols depicting various stories from the <em>Fables of Jean de La Fontaine</em>, published from 1668 to 1694 and largely adapted from Aesop and other early storytellers.
date
c. 1715
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79903564
creators
11823
genreSpecific
Furniture and woodwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 120 x 201.3 x 55.9 cm (47 1/4 x 79 1/4 x 22 in.)
cul
France, 18th century
accession
1947.183
Source extras
tec
carved wood, Savonnerie knotted-pile (symmetrical rug knot) upholstery; wool, hemp
tombstone
Set of Four Armchairs and Settee, c. 1715. Royal Savonnerie Manufactory, Chaillot Workshops (French, est. 1627). Carved wood, Savonnerie knotted-pile (symmetrical rug knot) upholstery; wool, hemp; overall: 120 x 201.3 x 55.9 cm (47 1/4 x 79 1/4 x 22 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1947.183
collection
Furniture
didYouKnow
The Savonnerie factory can trace its origins to a small carpet studio which set up shop in 1615 south of Paris in a factory that had formerly made soap (<em>savon</em> in French), hence the name Savonnerie.
citations
citation
Milliken, William. "A Set of Furniture Upholstered in Savonnerie Tapestry." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>35, no. 3 (March 1948): 40, 42-43, 45-46.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 42-43; Mentioned: p. 45.
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page_number
Mentioned & Reproduced: cat. no. 286
citation
Bidwell, Frederick E., and Leslie Cade.<em> The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with New York, NY: Scala Arts Publishers, 2014.
page_number
Mentioned & Reproduced: pp. 132-133
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:27:55.132000
sourceId
125218
dept
Decorative Art and Design
coll
Furniture
med
carved wood, Savonnerie knotted-pile (symmetrical rug knot) upholstery; wool, hemp
creatorTags
gender unknown
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
510d45e4d9951dcc